7th Sunday after Pentecost — Christus Victor Ev. Lutheran Church — Fayetteville, NC
Grace, Mercy, and Peace to you from God our Father and from Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
My student loans from my undergrad got restructured. I was really hoping they would just get wiped out, you know? Biden had that plan for a little while that anyone who owed less than X amount would just have their loans forgiven. I happened to owe far less than that amount. I know, I took the loan out. I owe the money. I get that. But it would have been cool to have $22,000 worth of student loan debt just vanish. Alas, I am still obligated to pay it. I made the debt, I owe the debt.
In our Epistle reading today, Saint Paul uses this language of debt to talk about us. But he says it in a funny way, I think. He says, “You are debtors, not to the flesh.” It’s an odd thought, and odd way to speak. If I talk about the debt you owe, the price you have to pay, that all of us have to pay one day, you would be right to assume that I was talking about your sin. And by extension, your sinful nature. Your flesh! Not your skin and bones, of course, but your natural, fallen nature. In your flesh, in your nature, you break the law. And now you owe a debt. A debt that must be paid. But Paul here in our epistle says that we are debtors not to the flesh. That is, this debt of the flesh has been paid.
So what does it look like, then, to live as someone whose debt is gone?
It means that you live out of love for God and love for neighbor! Because you are not obligated to sin any longer, because you are truly free, you now live a life a service to your neighbor, your church, your community, because you love. Not because you want to rack up enough points to get into heaven.
Living as someone whose debt has been paid means you live as one who is fighting the flesh! You have to daily mortify your flesh. That is, every single moment of every day you must work to kill those old desires, and destroy that old nature! When the old habits and vices rear up, you need to remember that these are just the voices of phantoms. Ghosts that were drowned in that baptismal font. When you’re stuck in traffic, when your coworker has some juicy gossip, when you’re angry and want to lash out at those around you, you must fight that urge.
God told Cain in Genesis Chapter 4, “Sin crouches at your door, but you must rule over it.” It is an old command. It is one of the very first pieces of wisdom and advice for Christian living that God gives us. Unfortunately, we know how the rest of Genesis 4 shakes out. Cain did not fear, love and trust God. And so sin was able to easily overtake him.
But you have something Cain lacked: You have the Holy Spirit of God with you. Paul tells us that if we give in to our sinful nature – if we live according to the flesh – we will die. And yet, paradoxically, if we, by the Spirit, kill our flesh, then we will live. Sin crouches at the door, Dear Christian. It seeks to destroy you. It seeks to drag you down. But unlike Cain, you have the Holy Ghost with you. And it is by His power that you can resist the devil. It is by His power that you can rule over your sin. By His power that you can put to death the old deeds of your flesh, and know that you have His life within you. You are not alone.
But you are only human. That means that, in the fight against your flesh, you will sometimes lose. There are times where you give in, and like a dog to vomit, you return to your sin. Paul says pretty clearly here that we are supposed to be sons of God. So does failure mean that you’re no longer a child of God? Does God un-adopt us when we fail? By no means! This is why Paul says that we cry out to God, “Abba! Father!” Abba, being the Hebrew for dad. We are His children. How many of you cast your own children aside when they fail, when they upset you, when they break the rules you set forth? “Which of you, if your children asked you for bread, would give him a rock instead? Or if they asked for fish, would give them a snake? And if you, who are wicked and evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in Heaven give you good gifts if you ask Him?” (Matthew 7:9-11). My Precious Children, no matter your failures, no matter your faults, no matter how you may walk away from that baptism, it doesn’t move. Its promises stay rooted firm. And Christ is always there, waiting for you with wide open arms.
This is why He instituted Confession and Absolution! This exact reason! It is the place Christ gave you to come back to Him. Show of hands, how many of you have ever done private confession and absolution? Keep your hands up if you’ve done private confession this year. Keep your hands up if you make regular use of the sacrament of Confession? I encourage you, take advantage of it. When you fail, and when you fall, don’t run from God in your shame and sorrow. Turn and run towards Him with everything you have!
Remember that your debt has been paid completely! You can’t be reissued the bill. God isn’t going to back out on His promises to you. He went so far as to die for you, He isn’t going to give up now. That’s why Paul tells us elsewhere that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Christ took all your sin, all your shame, all your condemnation upon Himself on that Cross. Dearly Beloved, you no longer live in bondage to sin! That is to say, you no longer live in fear of death and judgment! Your debt is paid, so flee to your Christ who paid it!
And now, if the debt is gone, and the fear is gone, what is there left to do? Pastor Chris Rosebrough tells this story about an encounter he had with the late Dr. Rod Rosenbladt at Concordia Irvine. He heard Dr. Rosenbladt teaching on this very thing. Dr. Rosenbladt was saying that, since Christ fulfilled the law, we are freed us from its demands. Pastor Rosebrough marched up to Dr. Rosenbladt after class and said, “Are you telling me that I can just go and do whatever I want?”
Dr. Rosenbladt laughed and said, “That’s exactly what I’m saying, Chris! And now, as someone redeemed by Christ and full of the love and Spirit of God, what is it you want to do?”
I like that story. It illustrates the Christian reality so beautifully. Dear Christian, you are free from sin. You are free from death. You are free from judgment. You are free from shame. You are free from fear. So now what shall you do?
Go out and live boldly for Christ! Go out and love your neighbor as Christ loved you. Let the fruit of the Spirit that is within you flourish: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control; against such things there is no law.
And when the world stands against you and persecutes you on account of Christ, remember that your God provides for your needs, not the world. Remember that your God has defeated death and that you now live forever. Remember that those who suffer with Christ share in His glory.
Dear Christian, your debt has been paid. There is no remaining balance. The terms will not be renegotiated. Your inheritance is certain. Your eternity is sure. If you fall, get back up and flee to God. And when you stand firm, give Him thanks and praise for His Spirit that strengthens you. And each day, as you mortify your flesh, as you kill that sinful nature, remember that you are God’s own dear child. And ask yourself, “What do I want to do?”
In Jesus Name,
Amen.