Sermon - 2013-06-26

The Law and The Gospel.  Often when we think of the Law, we are thinking of those times when we are driving and we see the  police on the side of the road.  We look around in panic and wonder, am I doing something wrong?  Am I speeding?  Did I cross the line or something? Alright, act cool, and everything will be fine.  For many people, this may be the way that they think about God.  God is constantly watching you and making sure you are being good or will punish you for it.  

Yet much like your parents, God gives us the Law as rules to follow so that we can have good and healthy relationships.  That we may take care of ourself and those around us.  The Law is there so that we may know our own limits and even know that we need God and one another in order to fully enjoy this world.  So yes, God even comes off as harsh sometimes, but that is often when we God’s People do something that goes totally against those Laws.  God reminds the people of those Laws and even the importance of upholding them.  However, the Law does not give you life and it does not save you.  In fact, it ultimately brings you to your own death.  For though the Law does bring structure and order, it is something that we can not fully do.  

So why on Earth would God give us a Law that we could not fulfill?   To precisely remind us that we need God.  That no matter how much we work and do within this world, we can not fully do it ourselves.  We need God to help us through those hard times that others put us through, that God puts us through and even realize that there is more to this world than our small part and view of it.  

When Jesus comes, God comes and lives and dwells among and actually becomes a curse unto the Law.  Through this, Jesus reminds God’s people that God does love them.  God wants to have a close relationship with you and is even willing to face the greatest thing that we fear, death.  Jesus even faces that death and over comes it.  Coming back and fully announces the Gospel to each and everyone of us.  Jesus has overcome sin, death, and the power of the Law so that your salvation is taken care of.  You no longer need to fear death, for through Jesus Christ there is freedom and life.  We still live with the Law to give us structure and order to have good and healthy relationships.  

With this Good News that we are given, we can also look around this world with new eyes and see things as God sees things through LOVE.  After realizing this good news is for you, you actually want to do the things in the Law, not because you can finally do them but because you want to do them to enjoy life more.  To have good relationships with God and others within your life.  Who better to learn from than the one who created you.  

Now, this Law and Gospel distinction is rather hard to determine because for each and everyone of us, we are on different parts of our faith journey, with different emotions and let’s face it, life events that affect our view of this world.  So when someone invites you to Bible Study, you ou may think: “Ugh, who would want to go to that?”  While the next person would be thinking: “Yea, I have been wanting to know what you and others think about different things.”  

This distinction powers out into life events, our relationship with God and even others.  More often than not, we need a word of good news because life and our own self diminishes us that we need to be picked back up and know that God and others care and love us.  So tonight, that is what I hope you know.  God loves you and so do the people that are gathered around you.  So hopefully you can face tomorrow and know that God is going to call you to do some pretty amazing things, because God has made you and done some amazing things for you already. Amen.