A Sermon by Pastor Tom Lacey . . .

Christ is … Savior

Romans 3:21-26, Preached by Tom Lacey at Congregational Church of Boca Raton, September 17, 2006

A woman goes to a pet store to purchase a talking parrot. She takes her new pet home but returns the next day complaining that the parrot hasn’t said a word. "Does it have a mirror?" asks the storekeeper. "Parrots are more talkative when they can see themselves." So, she buys a mirror. The next day she’s back, announcing that the bird still isn't speaking. "What about a ladder?" the storekeeper suggests. "Parrots like to walk up and down ladders." She buys the bird a ladder and goes home. Next day, she returns. Still no word. The storekeeper advises a little swing for the cage. She buys one of these, but still nothing. The next day she returns to the store to announce that the bird has died. The storekeeper says, "I'm terribly sorry to hear that. Did the bird ever say anything before it died?" "Yes," the woman says, "It said, ‘Don't they sell any pet food at that store?’” We have lots to offer as a church, but we first must offer what is essential, and that is Jesus Christ, our Savior.

In case you don’t think you need a savior, don’t worry I’m not talking about you. I’m talking to everyone else around you. Although one’s protest of innocence reminds me of a story. A conductor said to the Lt. Governor of the State of Pennsylvania, as he was boarding a train, "Go right up the steps, sir, turn left, and take a seat." But the Lt. Governor turned right instead of left and found himself in an empty car. He had just settled himself down when some twenty people, all dressed exactly alike, came in the car. The conductor said, "Sir, I think you’ll want to move into the other car. You see, these people are all from the mental hospital." "No, I’ll just stay right here," answered the Lt. Governor. Pretty soon a guard came in and began counting his patients, saying, "One, two, three, three, four, five ..." and coming to the man who was dressed differently from the rest, he asked, "Who are you?" He answered, “I’m the Lt. Governor of the State of Pennsylvania." "Oh," said the guard and continued counting right where he left off, "six, seven, eight, nine ..."

What we want to see this morning is that we’re in the same pickle as everyone else, but it’s going to be OK. God has made a way out for us. As scripture says, “the Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.” Ps.145.8 So no matter what you’ve done, God can forgive. Take the Lord up on his offer of the olive branch. Come in from the cold and be warmed at the fire of God’s great mercy for you. Let the Lord love you to spiritual health.

In our scripture reading, we heard that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." To say that all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory means that we haven’t fulfilled our destiny, which is for us to reflect and bear the image of God. You know, it’s a strange concept. We don’t have to be God, because we can’t; but we have to be god-like, reflecting the goodness of God, and this we can. There’s no doubt that this is a tall order to fill, but so it goes. So don’t do what your neighbors do. Do what Jesus would do. Be a light where none is. Pull for good when others are pushing for bad.

Now, most of us, when we hear the phrase, "all have sinned" think exclusively of our deeds, usually our misdeeds, meaning what we have done wrong. And sometimes, in a moment of spiritual clarity, we may reflect not only on our misdeeds, but also on our sins of omission—those good things, necessary things we have not done, such as feeding the hungry and housing the homeless. And certainly the volume of our misdeeds, particularly our sins of omission, is impressive. But there is a more important way to see ourselves. We are also sinful by our fallen nature. You see, it’s because our nature is more like cows than we may normally think. What do I mean by this? Well, ask a rancher how a cow gets lost, and chances are he will reply: “The cow starts nibbling on a tuft of green grass, and when it finishes, it looks ahead to the next tuft of green grass and starts nibbling on that one, and then it nibbles on a tuft of grass right next to a hole in the fence. It then sees another tuft of green grass on the other side of the fence, so it nibbles on that one and then goes on to the next tuft. The next thing you know, the cow has nibbled itself into being lost.” I’m interested not in cataloging the number of sins we may commit, or which one is the one that gets us into trouble. It’s more honest, helpful and real, if we just say that we continually seem to nibble our way into getting lost. It’s also been called backsliding, but I prefer nibbling. It’s our nature to nibble.

Do you know the seven deadly sins? Jesus told us that we don’t do wrong only when we murder someone, but when we get angry at someone. Nibble. We don’t commit a sin only when we commit adultery, but when we lust in our heart. Nibble. We don’t only depart from God’s path when we purchase the luxury item, but when we greedily desire these things. We nibble our way not just through a hole in the fence but across a bridge that spans a chasm that separates us from God and keeps us from the kind of peace, love and joy that the Lord intends for us to have.

Now there are two reasons why we need a savior. The first is because the crime occurs so often we that we’re almost continually in trouble. This is the “We are lost cows” syndrome, otherwise known as the Nibbler’s Effect. You feel the Nibbler’s Effect every time you get out of worship feeling good and because you feel good you realize that you didn’t feel so good before you got here. Something had gone wrong between last Sunday and today, or however long it has been. The thing is we can be a really good person and still be a nibbler. We are more often better than we are worser. In the early part of this century, a novelist researching a book about life in a certain New England town visited the local cemetery as part of his investigations. The writer noted with interest that nearly every tombstone from that era bore a final epitaph. Unfailingly, these were words of praise for the departed with references such as "kind," "generous," "upstanding," loving" and "faithful" appearing again and again. This prompted the researcher to ask, "I wonder where they buried the sinners?" Oh they’re there alright. The second reason we need a savior is because our crime is so great that it is beyond our capacity to pay the penalty. We’re in overwhelming debt and we don’t have much more than the clothes on our backs and the shoes on our feet.

The fact is we live up to our hearts in both types of troubles. So here’s the thing: God is holy and perfect and cannot accept sin and rightly so, won’t have anything to do with it. It would be like God saying he wants to have cancer. Sin is the anti-God. By definition, sin is rebellion against God. Even a sliver of a sin is by its nature anti-God. We reject God. This is why even the smallest trespass is so great. To put it in human terms, God has too much self-respect to accept this. Therefore we are not acceptable. But since God doesn’t want to abandon us, something has to be done. We need someone who will put us back in God’s good graces, and, listen, God needs someone who will provide him with the ultimate act of respect, on our behalf for God’s benefit and our blessing. Between God and man, an intermediary, a reconciler must be found.

I was driving the other day. A car in front of me had a bumper sticker that read, “Freedom Isn’t Free.” I wondered if the owners of the vehicle would have put that sentiment on the bumper if their son or daughter had been in Iraq and had perished in Iraq. I doubt it. The sentiment is too cavalier, too easy to pronounce without thinking what is really being talked about when it says, “Isn’t Free.” Somebody has to pay!  My son paid the price with his life! It had better be worth it. Isn’t that what parents who lose their children in war think? At least make it worth the sacrifice. I’m sure I would. On June 20, 2000, something almost unheard of in the airline industry occurred. A Southwest Airlines plane turned around to pick up passengers left behind! The plane was 150 miles into the flight when they were notified that three sisters had been left in Kansas City. The girls, only 8, 9 and 12 years of age, had gotten off the flight for a snack on a brief stop during their Los Angeles-to-Chicago flight. You have to commend the pilot of this Southwest flight for taking this radical step. Ed Wrather, “Make a U-turn,” Christianity.com In Christ, God turned everything around to pick us up. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, his death on a cross, this is now possible. When once we were going in opposite directions, now we are back together. Perhaps God has as his motto on the Pearly Gates, “Heaven Isn’t Free,” but in this case it was his own Son who paid the cost of our redemption. “For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; (we) are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith.” The Cross provides the means that break down the barrier which sin erects between God and human. By offering his sinless life… Christ negates sin’s power to separate us from God. The sacrifice was well worth it to God. We now have a savior.

A missionary was called to talk to a small boy who was dying in an African hospital. The man asked the boy if he believed in God. "Yes," came the timid reply. "Do you believe in Jesus Christ?" he inquired. Again came the reply, "Yes." "Well, then, have you ever asked him into your life as your personal Savior?" he inquired. "No," replied the child. The missionary was grieved and he struggled with how he might explain the gospel to the little child so near death. Finally he took the boy's hand and said, "'Jesus Christ is the Savior.' That's five words. One for each finger on your hand. And do you know which word is the most important? The word, 'the' because the statement, 'Jesus Christ is the Savior' is but history. It's true. But it does you no good. But change the word 'the' to 'my' and that becomes salvation. 'Jesus Christ is my Savior.' Will you confess that?" The little boy said he would and the missionary prayed for him and left wondering if he'd gotten through. The next day there was news of the boy's death. His parents soon called for the missionary. "It is strange," they said. "When our son died he was holding tightly to his pointer finger with his hand. We don't understand why, but it seemed to give him comfort." And suddenly it came to the missionary that the gospel had gotten through to the little boy after all. The pointer finger was the "my" in the statement, "Jesus Christ is my Savior."

There is one, given by God, who came to seek and to save the lost. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. Christ is our savior. Believe. Amen.

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