The Cost of Being Right

We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. ⁸If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. Romans 14:7-8

I have read these words countless times at graveside services for families saying good bye to a deceased loved one. In that context, these words remind us that no matter what happens in life God is always with us, in life and death. While reading this passage from Romans is certainly appropriate for a funeral, the original context that Paul sought to address was not death but food.

In the early church there was considerable conflict between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians. The conflict that Paul addresses centers around the Jewish Christians who maintain strict observance of dietary laws while others, whether Jewish or Gentile, feel free to eat whatever they like. This caused a crisis of faith for those who held fast to those regulations, as they felt those who did not were violating God’s commands. As a technical matter, Paul believes that no food is unclean, but for the sake of the mutual upbuilding of faith, he encourages sensitivity and restraint and not judging those who practice and believe differently.

Let us therefore no longer pass judgment on one another, but resolve instead never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of another. ¹⁴I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. ¹⁵If your brother or sister is being injured by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. Do not let what you eat cause the ruin of one for whom Christ died. Romans 14:13-15

 Paul espouses a communal rather than individualistic ethic. It matters how other people feel and even when you are right sometimes you are wrong. This sounds like good advice for any relationship. There are times when the relationship between people is more important than the individual. Paul is encouraging the Roman church to be sensitive, thoughtful, and flexible in how they treat one another. He encourages them to see the higher value of brothers and sisters coming to faith in Jesus Christ than the rightness of which food they can eat.

Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. ²⁰Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for you to make others fall by what you eat. Romans 14:19-20

So the next time you find yourself arguing or debating with a dear friend, family member, or fellow member of the Body of Christ ask yourself whether the benefit of being right is worth the cost.

Branching Out

If the root is holy, then the branches also are holy. ¹⁷But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in their place to share the rich root of the olive tree, ¹⁸do not boast over the branches. If you do boast, remember that it is not you that support the root, but the root that supports you. ¹⁹You will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” ²⁰That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand only through faith. So do not become proud, but stand in awe. Romans 11:16-20

In Romans, Paul makes a compelling argument for how God’s salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, is an extension rather than a repudiation of God’s salvific work in the Old Testament. In other words, there is continuity in the gracious way God interacts with humanity in both the old and new testaments. Salvation is by grace, through faith, apart from works of the law. It was the faith, not the works, of Abraham that was “reckoned to him as righteousness.” (Genesis 15:6) So while the people of Israel were chosen for a special relationship with God, this was always the gracious offering from God not the result of adherence to the law.

In the death and resurrection of Christ, this graciousness is revealed for all people, not just the Jewish people. Our relationship with God, and our salvation, is not a matter of the family you were born into, the faith tradition you inherited, or our moral perfection. Rather it is a matter of faith:

If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9

Anyone who has faith has salvation. This is the central message of Romans and the heart of the gospel. Salvation is, and always has been, a matter of faith.

So what then becomes of the Jewish people who do not believe? Are the ancestors of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the same people God chose for a special relationship, no longer included in the promises of God? Paul desperately wants the Jewish people, his family and friends, to be saved (cf. Romans 9:1-5, 10:1) but also recognizes that by rejecting Christ they are standing outside of the promises of God. He uses the familiar image of a tree to illustrate the situation. In the Old Testament the people of Israel are often depicted as trees in both positive and negative ways:

The righteous flourish like the palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. ¹³They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. ¹⁴In old age they still produce fruit; they are always green and full of sap. Psalm 92:12-14

To provide for those who mourn in Zion— to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, to display his glory. Isaiah 61:3

The Lord once called you, “A green olive tree, fair with goodly fruit”; but with the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, and its branches will be consumed. Jeremiah 11:16

So when Paul uses the image of branches broken off from the holy root of God, and a wild olive branch grafted in its place, he is describing both the continuity of salvation and the situation of those who do not believe by using an image for God’s people that would be readily recognized. The grafted branches (Gentiles) should not however look down upon the broken branches (Israel) because:

And even those of Israel, if they do not persist in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. ²⁴For if you have been cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these natural branches be grafted back into their own olive tree. Romans 11:23-24

God has not given up on the Jewish people and they could at anytime be grafted back into the tree of salvation. Salvation is a gift of grace through faith and it is open to all. This is good news for all branches of the human family.

Already, Not Yet

For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? ²⁵But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Romans 8:24-25

There is nothing more powerful than hope. Hope allows us to endure hardship, suffering and pain and still trust that redemption and healing are possible. Hope allows us to believe that despite the brokenness, sin and evil in our world, God will be victorious. Hope allows to see a future that has not yet been fully realized that we know is true and to wait for it with patience.

This kind of hope is powerful and liberating and plays a central role in Paul’s theological vision in Romans. This hope is rooted in the understanding that the death and resurrection of Christ is the pivotal moment in history. On the cross, Jesus defeats all the powers of death, sin, and evil. This has already happened and yet we also know that sin and evil still exist in our world. God’s kingdom was ushered into the world in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, but is not yet fully realized. At the second coming of Jesus, the kingdom of God will be fully realized and all that is not from God will be eradicated. This is the central promise of the cross, but it is not yet here and so we wait with hope and faith and patience.

So how shall we wait with patience? Paul offers the evocative image of the creation in labor pains to illustrate the hopeful waiting:

We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; ²³and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. Romans 8:22-23

The not yet, kingdom world is already present but not yet born. The whole creation waits with eager hope and expectation that God will deliver on the promise of redemption. This is a powerful image that captures the hope for what we cannot see but deeply trust. We trust that as we wait that nothing will separate us from the love of God.

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

Baptism is Death

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

Romans 6:3-4

 

In Romans, Paul makes the case that baptism is death. It is death to self, death to sin, death to all things apart from God. In the early church, and in many churches today, people were baptized as adults in a river. They were fully immersed and held underwater and emerged as a new creation. They were not only cleansed of their sins, but their old self was drowned and left for dead. Baptism into Christ’s death means that our sin died on the cross and that we have new life in the power of the resurrection. This is a powerful and life-giving promise.

In the Lutheran tradition, where we most often baptize very young children with a splash of water, I wonder if we miss the power of baptism into Christ’s death. While I am not suggesting we hold toddlers underwater in the rapids of the Mississippi, I do think we need to internalize the power of baptism as death. If baptism is death then we no longer need to fear our own mortality. If baptism is death then the end of our story has already been written. If baptism is death then we are free to live this life as children of God, walking in newness of life. Baptism is more than forgiveness it is liberation from all that binds us.

This liberation however does not except us from the real struggle of human existence. It does not prevent human suffering. But what it does offer is real hope in the midst of suffering. (see Romans 5 Boast in Hope and Suffering ) We have hope because we know how the story ends for us and for the world: redemption, reconciliation, and the Kingdom of God. In baptism, this promise is secure and when we understand and accept this promise, it has the power to change our lives. May we trust the promise and walk each day as a child of God and in newness of life.

Saved by Grace

Therefore you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things. Romans 2:1

In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he offers a comprehensive vision of the salvation of God and what it means to live our life in response. The first three chapters spell out our deep need for God’s grace. We need God’s grace so desperately because we are mired in sin. The truth is we are not “ok” in our relationship with God. On our own merits we fall short and are fully deserving of God’s wrath. It is only by the grace of God, through the death and resurrection of Christ, that we can be saved.

Take, for example, the sin of judging others. This is something we all do, all the time. We judge people by what they wear, how they talk, how much money they have, etc. We also have a very human tendency to judge the morality of others as well. I have noticed that when we judge other’s behavior our boundary of what is righteous behavior and what is not is just below our own behavior. “Those people” we sneer silently (or aloud) and we think of ourselves as somehow better or superior. Paul wrote to the Romans about this very human tendency not to condemn them but to force them to take inventory of their own sin.

You say, “We know that God’s judgment on those who do such things is in accordance with truth.” ³Do you imagine, whoever you are, that when you judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself, you will escape the judgment of God? ⁴Or do you despise the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience? Do you not realize that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? ⁵But by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. Romans 2:2-5

The truth is we are all sinners, whether we know it or not, and in deep need of God’s grace. In Romans, Paul makes clear that on our own we are nowhere in our relationship with God. On our own we deserve, and will receive, God’s wrath. But God sent Jesus Christ into the world for our salvation. Not for perfect people, or good people, but all people. All people have access to salvation. All people, no matter who they are or what they done, can be saved. This is the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ.

But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, ²²the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, ²³since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; ²⁴they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Romans 3:21-24

Let us know clearly our deep need for forgiveness. Let us know clearly the infinite love and grace of God. And let us live life, loving God and one another, in response.

The Transformation of Jacob

Then he said, "Let me go, for the day is breaking." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." So he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." Then the man said, "You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and humans, and have prevailed." Genesis 32:26-28

The story of Jacob wrestling with the angel (God) is a story of transformation. The name Jacob means "heel grabber" in Hebrew and was given to him because he grabbed his twin brother Esau's heel when he was born (cf. Genesis 25:26). Jacob the heel grabber not only describes his birth but like many Hebrew names, is also an apt description of his character. Jacob's life was defined by trickery and deceit mostly at the expense of his brother. He tricked Esau into selling his birthright for some stew and bread (Genesis 25:29-34) and he conspired with his mother to steal his dying father's blessing from Esau as well (Genesis 27). All of these actions lead to Jacob fleeing from his brother's wrath and spending decades estranged from Esau.

As time went by, Jacob started his own family and having subsequently become the victim of deceit at the hands of his father-in-law Laban (Genesis 29-31), he again finds himself fleeing potential danger. At this point Jacob seeks reconciliation with his brother Esau. While it may be that he only went back to his brother because he had no where else to go, he does seek genuine reconciliation with and sends a peace offering to begin the process (Genesis 32:3-21). Jacob does not know what kind of reception he will receive from his brother (whether he will be killed or forgiven), so he sends his family safely away and prepares to face Esau alone (Genesis 32:22-23). Jacob the heel grabber is now ready to face the consequences of his life, rather than weasel his way out as he had so many time before.

All of this leads to Jacob wrestling with an unknown man all night at the river Jabbok. The story implies that Jacob is wrestling directly with God and after a long struggle he emerges with a new name and new identity. Jacob demands a blessing from the man, a blessing he has earned through wrestling (rather than stolen like before). The change of his name from Jacob to Israel signifies a change in identity. Israel means "one who wrestles God" and connotes a person of integrity who faces conflict directly. This is a marked change for Jacob who previously lied, cheated, and ran from conflicts.

Jacob wrestles with God but in sense he is wrestling with himself. He is becoming the person that God created him to be and the one through whom the blessing of Abraham would continue. Jacob does not leave this scuffle with God unscathed however, as he will now walk with a limp (Gen. 32:31). After wrestling with God, Jacob goes on to reconcile with Esau. He could not reconcile with Esau until he reconciled with God. By receiving a blessing from God and undergoing and identity change, he is prepared to make things right with his brother. Put another way, when we are able to love God we can finally love one another. Jacob needed to deal with himself and his relationship with God before he could seek reconciliation with his brother.

And so it is with us. We all must wrestle with God in our own way. We must face the truth about ourselves and submit our lives to God. Having done so, we can seek renewed relationships with those in our lives, no longer defined by our human nature but defined by who God created us to be.