God’s Word for All

Romans 10:8b-13

February 21, 2010 – ©Rev. Dr. Linnea E. Carnes

Introduction

A man was driving home from work one day when he saw a group of young children selling lemonade on a corner near his home. The sign over their stand said, “Lemonade – 10 cents”. The man was impressed with these enterprising children, so he pulled over to buy a cup of lemonade and give his support to them. A young boy came up to the man and the man placed his order for one cup of lemonade. He gave the boy a quarter, 25 cents.

The children finally figured out how much change to give the man and the boy returned to the car with the change and the man’s cup of lemonade. The boy then just stood there by the man’s car and stared at the man as he enjoyed his fresh lemonade. Finally the boy asked if the man were finished. “Just about,” the man said. “But why?” The little boy answered, “That’s the only cup we have, and we need it back to stay in business!” It’s hard to operate a lemonade business if you have only one cup.

This story is something of a parable for what Jesus saw in the religious leaders of his day. When it came to love, they had only one cup. They taught people to love, but it was a very limited, narrow, conditional love. “Love those who look like you and act like you and dress like you and talk like you and eat like you and think like you, and shun everybody else. When it came to love, that was the only cup they had.

But then along came Jesus with a different idea and a different approach. Jesus loved everybody. He accepted everybody. He included everybody. He reached out graciously and intentionally to those who were down on their luck and to those who were hurting, to those who were poor and needy, … and tenderly, he drew them into the circle of love. [James W. Moore, Faith Is the Answer, But What Are the Questions? (Nashville, TN: Dimensions for Living, 2007) 58-59].

After Jesus ascended to the Father, the disciples still had a lot to learn about reaching out to others with the love of Christ. They had not yet figured out that they needed more than one cup if they were going to succeed in the work that Jesus gave them.

The Law

In today’s lesson from Romans 10, Paul was expressing his concern for fellow Israelites who didn’t believe in Jesus. In Romans 10:1-4 he wrote,

“Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is that the Jewish people might be saved. I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal. For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Instead, they are clinging to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. They won’t go along with God’s way. For Christ has accomplished the whole purpose of the law. All who believe in him are made right with God.”

God gave the Israelites the Law through Moses. The Law was a guide by which they could live in ways to honor God. It set them apart from the people of other nations who worshiped other gods. The Law also told them to show compassion and kindness to orphans, widows, foreigners, and the poor. God wanted all people see his love and compassion.

Shortly before the people entered the Promised Land, Moses reminded the people, in Deuteronomy 30, that God had been with them and God had given them the Law to guide them.

If they continued to love God and obey his commands they would live and enjoy God’s blessings. But if they disobeyed God and turned to worship other gods, they would be cursed. The choice was life or death. To be right with God they must obey the Law. Doing what the Law required was what gave them an identity. The Law defined them as God’s people.

A Rejection of the Law

When Jesus began to teach the people about God, to heal the sick and lame, forgive sins, reach out to the poor, the outcasts, and the sinners, it made the religious leaders nervous. Jesus didn’t keep the Law they way they did. In fact, they thought he was breaking the Law.

The Jewish leaders saw Jesus as a threat because he challenged them to see God in a new way. Jesus was loving rather than legalistic. They didn’t understand that God sent Jesus to turn the hearts of people back to God through love.

Jesus, “the word that became flesh and dwelt among them,” had been with them. [Jn.1:14]. God’s Messiah had come to them, to set them free, and they missed it. He had come down from heaven so they could know God’s love. Then he died for their sins and three days later rose from the dead, so they could be saved from sin and death. But they rejected Jesus’ sacrificial act of love.

They chose to stay in bondage to the Law. They chose legalism over love. The Jewish people still choose the Law over the freedom that God offers in Jesus.

Other religions have their laws too. We may admire the devotion that people of other religions have to keeping the religious rules. They are so committed to keeping these laws that we may wonder if that isn’t a better way.

Failing to keep the rules may mean they can’t reach the desired goal – heaven, or some other idyllic place. The only way to make it “in” is to keep the religious requirements, and do everything right. Yet, no one can keep all the rules all the time.

Even Christian churches give people rules to follow. Doing all the right things becomes more important than growing in their relationship to Jesus. People find it easier to keep a set of rules. Then they know exactly what they must do to be right with God. Too often the rules are more “don’t’s” than “do’s”. Don’t smoke, drink, dance, go to movies on Sunday, wear jeans to church. But Jesus didn’t give us a set of rules to follow.

A Relationship of Love

Jesus gave us one command – one command that fulfills all the Law and the Prophets – “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And love your neighbor as yourself.” [Mt.22:37-39].

Jesus said that being in a loving relationship with God and others is more important than keeping rules. When we in faith accept Jesus as our Lord and believe that God did raise him from the dead, we begin a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Christianity isn’t a religion, it’s a relationship.

God wanted a relationship with people from the beginning – from the moment he created Adam and Eve. God wanted a relationship with Abraham, with Isaac, with Jacob. God wanted a relationship with Moses and his chosen people. He wanted to be their God and them to be his people. He wanted his people to love him as much as he loved them.

God is still seeking to have a relationship with anyone who will come to him in faith and love him as he loves them. We become children of God through faith in Jesus. We are adopted into God’s family. However, as with any adoption, there is a cost. The cost of our adoption was paid for by Jesus when he was put to death on a cross for our sins. He gave his life for us so that we could have life with God forever. That’s how much God loves us.

Jesus offers us forgiveness of our sins and eternal life if we will receive it. So when we believe in Jesus we are made right with God; we are justified. And when we profess faith in Jesus we are saved [Rom10:10].

Conclusion

Jesus didn’t come to give us another set of rules to follow. He came to show us how much God loves us. God didn’t come to force us to all look alike, dress alike, speak alike, think alike, eat alike, do things alike, but to show us how to love all people just as they are – the way God loves them.

Those who have received Christ by faith and proclaim him as Lord have entered into a new life and a new relationship with God. “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” [v.11]. God will never give up on them or abandon them. God will fulfill his promises to them.

Having been given this wonderful gift, how can we keep quiet about it? Shouldn’t we want to tell everyone? Good news is meant to be shared. The Good News is that Jesus came to save all people.

This “same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him. For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” [v.12-13]. As much as God wants the people of Israel to come to faith in Jesus, God also wants everyone else to believe too.

The power of God’s Word, through Jesus Christ, to change lives, to bring people into a relationship with God is the power of love – God’s love!

Jesus looked at the heart of each person and saw their need, their thirst for love. He saw their brokenness and hurt. He saw their loneliness and pain. He saw their shame. Then Jesus reached out and touched people with love to heal their hurts and their shame. He loved them into a relationship with God. He offered a cup of healing to some, a cup of kindness to others. He offered a cup of forgiveness to all who accept it. And a cup of love to each and every person.

“To all who received him and accepted [his cup of grace] he gave the right to become children of God.” [Jn.1:12 NLT].

If we really want other people to know Jesus, then we have to stop trying to make them look like us, and start trying to help them look like Jesus.

Don’t limit your love to one cup. Open your hearts and minds to Jesus and let God’s love fill you.

Then go and give a cup of Christ’ love to others. Let Jesus’ love in you love others into a relationship with our living, loving God. Amen.

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This sermon is copyright ©2010 by Rev. Dr. Linnea E. Carnes, Immanuel Evangelical Covenant Church, Chicago, Illinois.