By The Rev. Dr. Paul A. Leggett
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Sermon Text: Romans 11:25-32
Sermon Theme
The mercy of God is the central theme of the gospel. The gospel in the complete sense begins in the Garden of Eden right after Adam and Eve have rebelled against God. God clothes them and promises a final victory over the serpent and all that the serpent represents (Genesis 3:14-15, 21). God’s mercy is not ultimately an attitude or a disposition. It is an action which God undertakes in Jesus Christ to save the world (John 3:16-17). This action accomplishes God’s intention, not only to forgive sin and restore his creation, but to demonstrate his mercy which is new every morning (Lamentations 3:23). We then need not only to accept this mercy ourselves but also be prepared to share it with everyone. In the words of John Calvin, we should pray that everyone will be saved (I Timothy 2:3-4).
Sermon Outline
- Act. The catechism tells us that God is “most merciful and gracious.” God’s mercy is expressed in and through God’s actions. To say that God is merciful is also to say that God is faithful. He is faithful to his promises. Scripture emphasizes the fact that God is faithful even when we are not (II Timothy 2:13). This is counter to our way of thinking. Our tendency is to be legalistic and judgmental (Matthew 9:10-13). At best we desire justice not mercy (James 2:13). This is not God’s way. We easily forget that we are in continual need of God’s grace and mercy.
- Accomplish. Paul’s argument in Romans is that God’s mercy is not simply a desire on God’s part. God’s merciful actions accomplish their desired end. Everyone, Jew and Gentile alike, stand condemned before God, neither loving God nor our neighbor as ourselves. Yet God in his mercy sends Jesus Christ to be the savior of the world, Jew and Gentile alike (Romans 3:21-30). On the cross he accomplishes salvation. Scripture never says that Christ’s death achieves only the possibility of salvation. The cross is final and effective (Romans 5:8-10; Ephesians 2:1-5; Hebrews 9:11-14). God’s plan is to show mercy to all.
- Accept. We are called to accept God’s mercy demonstrated in Jesus Christ. We need to believe and trust in this mercy, whatever our present circumstances, good or bad. In order to receive God’s mercy truly we need to understand that it has no limit or boundary. To refuse this mercy is to refuse God himself. Tragically, some, like the older brother in the parable of the prodigal son, reject this mercy. Yet Paul’s summation of the gospel is that God “may be merciful to all.” Jesus Christ is the savior of the world (John 12:46-47). Through him God is reconciling the world to himself (II Corinthians 5:19) making peace by the blood of the cross (Colossians 1:20). To see the world as the object of God’s mercy changes our whole outlook. It takes away our pride, our resentment, our anger and our futility. Our whole lives are sustained and encouraged by God’s mercy. We need to demonstrate this mercy constantly and continually.
Questions for Us
- Why do you think we have such a hard time grasping the meaning of God's mercy? Why do we always seem to want to view salvation as something based, to some degree, on what we do?
- What do you think Scripture means when it says that Christ is the savior of the world, that he takes away the sin of the world? What should our response be to these truths?
- Given statements like the summation we find in Romans 11:25-32, John Calvin said that we should wish that all be saved. What would our behavior be like if we treated every person we met as an object of God's mercy?
