Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ (Ro 1:7). Amen.
In two days it will be the 4th of July. That date has significance for us. It is not just an ordinary day of the month, but a national holiday on the calendar. It is Independence Day. We again recall the blessings of now 241 years of this country—not without some faults, but with significant freedoms. There will be firecrackers and sparklers at night. (Some extend the pyrotechnics to the 5th and 6th of July. They must really like to celebrate.) There will also be get-togethers in parks and gatherings around pools. All of that adds to the excitement. Because of that, we greet each other with “Happy 4th of July.”
But what about the 2nd of July? We remember something that we enjoy, not just today, but every day. Just like our citizenship in the United States of America. Rejoice about reconciliation in the present and in the future. We read from …
Romans 5:6-11
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus who died for us and lives for us,
There will be an ooh for the first firework of Tuesday when the wait for darkness is finally over. That will be followed by an aah when the second one explodes in the sky. But my guess is that half away through the show, the delight will dwindle. Perhaps the question: “How much longer?” That happens. What is thrilling initially becomes boring eventually. Even with multicolored or magnificent display overhead.
Can that take place with God’s love? Possibly. We hear it so often that it becomes ordinary. Even with the fancy terms that we use. Like reconciliation.
Maybe we need to define it so that we are on the same page. If we don’t understand the meaning of “reconciliation” or “reconcile,” then we are just using fancy pants language. And that kind of jargon does us no good. No more than a mechanic talking over our heads with his technical lingo like transmission.
It carries the connotation of “to change” like what you do when you travel out of the country—exchanging dollars to euros, for example. Specifically, in the Bible, it means restoring a relationship, or renewing a friendship. God does it all for us. We are on the receiving end of that. That ought not to become tiresome. Ever. Instead …
Rejoice about Reconciliation
1. In the present (6-8)
2. In the future (9-11)
1. In the present (6-8)
We use so many initials nowadays. Is it because there are too many syllables in the words that we have to abbreviate everything? Neither here nor there. But if someone is your “BF,” that stands for your “best friend.” (See. That is not too complicated or cumbersome just to state it.) There is a closeness and that is the case right now. And that is nice. Even better is ours with God. Rejoice about reconciliation in the present.
God is love (1 Jn 4:8). And God does love. That is significant. He doesn’t just declare his love, but he displays it. Think of how God loved the world and gave his Son (Jn 3:16). There is an emotion and an action. It is like a child who shares his love with an occasional, “I love you,” to his mommy. But he also shows it by helping her clean the house.
And God had to love us first. It not like we brought some endearing qualities to the table like two people who have the same interests and a mutual respect develops. Hardly. And it hits hard. But let it for a moment. Paul mentions two truths:
• We were “powerless” (Ro 5:6). Without power. How is that? A good credit score allows us to make a major purchase. Big muscles help us to lift heavy weights. But none of that when it comes to us and God. We were unable to do anything about our guilt like a person deep in debt to the bank or stuck under a barbell at the gym. Powerless.
• We fit into the category of “ungodly” (Ro 5:6). We attach that designation to really bad individuals. Paul? Us? But there we are—without any reverence or respect for God by nature (Ro 8:7). It is in the sense of spitting in God’s face rather than kneeling down before his glory. Ungodly.
And yet, Christ, the Messiah, the One whom God selected, came into the world. And he died. He laid down his life for us—in our place, for our benefit, for our sake (Is 53). He did it “at just the right time” (Ro 5:6). When God decided the correct moment in history (Ga 4:4), Jesus hung on the cross. It was all according to his eternal plan (2 Ti 1:9,10).
It is hard to find an adequate comparison to that kind of love. For whom would you be willing to die? Who would make that list? It might not be a long one—immediate family like spouse or children. But how far do you go? A first cousin? A shirttail relative? A complete stranger? A bitter rival?
It does happen, but not often. Paul concedes that point. “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die” (Ro 5:7). Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary is off Buntrock Road. It is named for the former Mequon police chief. It is a longer story, but the condensed version goes something like this. He was accidentally shot and killed by friendly fire. A robbery suspect took a man and his infant child hostage in a car. The chief traded places with them. After a scuffle in the backseat, the chief disarmed the man. As he was getting out of the vehicle, a fellow policeman mistook him and fired, fatally wounding him. The chief is hailed as a hero. We would agree. That is outstanding. But it would make even more sense if it was Buntrock’s own child. There are similar examples—pushing someone out of the way of a speeding bus only to be hit or jumping on a grenade in battle. But it is not every day. But that is exactly what Jesus did.
Or as the apostle states—both the reality and the reason: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Ro 5:8). Again, it smarts a bit. “Sinners”—those who have missed the bullseye, not by a little, but by a lot, and not occasionally, but regularly. But for powerless, ungodly sinners, Jesus died. Now that is love. That is something that is new every morning for us to rejoice about (La 3:22,23). That kind of one-sided love belongs to God. And it comes from God. To us.
That helps us appreciate how God dealt with Israel. He chose them, not because of their greatness, but because of his graciousness. And he brought them out of Egypt. He carried them “on eagles’ wings” (Ex 19:4). And from them ultimately came the Savior. Like them, we have to admit that we don’t deserve to be his “treasured possession” (Ex 19:5). But we are. We are that valuable to him that he sent Jesus to die for us. The very One who looked at his people as “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Mt 9:36). But for them and for us the Good Shepherd gave up his life (Jn 10:15). And so we join the psalmist in shouting for joy and serving the Lord (Ps 100:1,2). “We are his people, the sheep of his pasture” (Ps 100:3). That is true right now. Rejoice about reconciliation in the present. It is for every day.
2. In the future (9-11)
So affix another “F” alongside “BF” and what do you get? Best friends forever. That is a lovely sentiment, but not always likely. Your BFF in grade school may switch in high school. Not when it comes to our association with God. He guarantees it. Rejoice in reconciliation in the future.
There is no doubt about our legal status before God. Because of what he has done. “We have now been justified by his blood” (Ro 5:9). Once again Paul takes us to the courtroom. It is there that God acquits us, clears us of any and every charge. There is no long jury deliberation. Not guilty. How? It is only in Jesus’ blood, shed on Calvary, which cleanses us from all sin (1 Jn 1:7). That wipes away all wrong on our record.
If that is right—that God has justified us, and he has, or since it is the case, there is a greater likelihood of something else. “How much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!” (Ro 5:9). It will only be 10 minutes on the 4th of July. That is either a short time or a long time depending on your perspective or your hunger. But in that span, 20 men and 15 women will try to consume as many hotdogs as possible. (Here is a public service announcement: Kids, don’t try this at home.) Last year’s champion was Joey Chestnut. He consumed 70.5. That is an interesting test of patriotism in front of an estimated crowd of 30,000 to 40,000, not to mention those viewing on the 4-letter network. But if he can eat that many on the 4th, he can eat one on the 5th. If Christ died for powerless, ungodly sinners, he can certainly rescue them on Judgment Day. It is not a day of anger against us—God already poured it out on Jesus, but a day of acceptance of us. All through Jesus who will take us to the home that he has prepared for us (Jn 14:1-3).
One more time Paul points us to a former circumstance. We were “enemies” (Ro 5:10)—against God, opposed to God. But he didn’t let that condition continue. “When we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son” (Ro 5:10). There was a badly broken connection. But God made it a beautiful one. Where there was once friction, there is now friendship. There is that concept of reconciliation. It is a personal bond between us and God. It came about by means of Jesus’ death.
But a dead Savior is no Savior. God brought him back to life. Since we have been reconciled, it is impossible to think that he won’t take us to heaven. “How much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!” (Ro 5:10). Because Jesus lives, we live (Jn 14:19). His resurrection to life guarantees our return to life. Our future is bright.
Paul closes with the comfort that all of that is our possession at the moment. “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation” (Ro 5:11). We are so thrilled about it that we cannot keep quiet. We boast. We rejoice. Jesus Christ our Lord brought it all about. We are friends of God in the family of God. Rejoice about reconciliation in the future. It is for this day all the way to the last day.
Can someone get bored with 4th of July fireworks? It could be in minute 27 of a 45-minute extravaganza. Or up to the grand finale. But as they light up the heavens, it is spectacular. There may be a standing ovation or at least eager clapping. If not, certainly when it comes to reconciliation—God transforming our relationship—from hostility to harmony. Rejoice about that reconciliation. It is good in the present. It is good in the future. It is so. It will be so. Amen.
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you (Ro 16:20). Amen.
July 2, 2017
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