{"id":8151,"date":"2022-07-26T05:10:26","date_gmt":"2022-07-26T12:10:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/?p=8151"},"modified":"2022-07-26T05:12:11","modified_gmt":"2022-07-26T12:12:11","slug":"clothed-in-his-righteousness-alone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/?p=8151","title":{"rendered":"
Clothed in His Righteousness Alone<\/div>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Click here for a pdf version.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Galatians 1:6-9<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A sermon for the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hymn, \u201cMy Hope is Built on Nothing Less,\u201d is based on the parable in Matthew 7:24-27 about the wise man who built his house on the rock; \u201cand the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall because it had been built on the rock.\u201d In contrast, the foolish man \u201cbuilt his house on the sand; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first line of the hymn, \u201cMy hope is built on nothing less than Jesus\u2019 blood and righteousness,\u201d means that my hope is built on nothing less than or other than Jesus\u2019 blood and righteousness. As you know, the words righteousness, holiness, and peace (shalom) all flow together in Hebrew. Therefore we could also say: My hope is built on Jesus\u2019 blood and holiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hymn goes on: \u201cNo merit of my own I claim, but wholly lean on Jesus\u2019 name.\u201d The word \u201cwholly\u201d implies the word \u201choly.\u201d The play on \u201cwholly\u201d and \u201choly\u201d works the way overtones in music do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Verse 2: \u201cWhen darkness veils his lovely face, I rest on his unchanging grace; in every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil.\u201d Note that the word \u201cveil\u201d is used twice in this verse. Remember, too, that the word \u201cveil,\u201d as a face covering, is pronounced like \u201cvale,\u201d as in valley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This hymn was written two hundred years ago. In the original the author used the word \u201cvale\u201d probably because he was remembering the Twenty-Third Psalm, verse 4: \u201cYea though I walk through the valley of deep darkness.\u201d The valley is the vale. The RSV translates this, \u201cthe valley of the shadow of death,\u201d but the original is \u201cdeep darkness,\u201d which includes death and all deep troubles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Verse 3: \u201cHis oath, his covenant, his blood,\u201d What is this oath? It says the Lord swears by himself (Hebrews 6:13-18). There is nothing higher. He can only take an oath on the basis of his own name. That covenant is his promise and the promise is that through what he has done on the cross, \u201chis blood\u201d has taken and will take care of our problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHis oath, his covenant, his blood, Sustain me in the raging flood; When all supports are washed away, He then is all my hope and stay.\u201d That \u201call\u201d means \u201cChrist alone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And finally verse 4: \u201cWhen he shall come with trumpet sound, Oh, may I then in him be found, Clothed in his righteousness alone, Redeemed to stand before the throne!\u201d In the original the author wrote \u201cfaultless I stand before the throne.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then the refrain: \u201cOn Christ, the solid rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand.\u201d That says something about \u201cChrist alone,\u201d the holiness, the righteousness, what it\u2019s all about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This hymn reflects what Paul writes in Galatians 1:6-9. He talks about those who are changing the gospel, who are perverting the gospel by adding to it. He speaks against them in the strongest terms: \u201cBut even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we preached to you, let him be\u201d \u2013 and here the translators choke \u2013 they write: \u201clet him be accused.\u201d It really should be translated: \u201cLet him be damned.\u201d The Greek is \u201canathema.\u201d In Hebrew the word is \u201cherem,\u201d which means \u201cseparated from God forever.\u201d The most terrible kind of curse there could be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is an amazing statement. Paul writes this in Galatians 1:8 and then repeats it again in verse 9: \u201cI say again: If any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be cut off from God forever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is going on in the churches of Galatia? There are those who have added to the gospel and thus changed the gospel. Paul gives a couple of examples in chapter 2. He talks about people who have come from the Judaizers. They have sneaked into spy on the people. They have sneaked in see if people are still following the law. Instead of saying we are now free in Christ, they have told the people: You still have to keep the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul talks about a dinner. Peter, the head of the apostles, was there. Peter had given in to the Judaizers and his weakness was contagious. Paul says: \u201cI opposed him to his face\u201d (Gal 2:11) because he \u201cwas not straightforward about the truth of the gospel\u201d (Gal 2:14).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Gal 3:1Paul writes: \u201cO foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?\u201d \u201cBewitched you\u201d meaning the evil one comes in and tricks you. Paul continues: You started with the gospel, but you have gone back to adding other requirements. You started with the Spirit and now you\u2019re going back to good works. How could you be so foolish!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We, like them, get caught up in this kind of thinking. Paul comes back in Gal 2:5 and 14 to \u201cthe truth of the gospel.\u201d This is also what we have in the hymn, \u201cMy Hope is Built on Nothing Less.\u201d This is the bedrock on which everything stands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recall what Paul writes in Romans 1:16: \u201cThe gospel is the power of God for salvation.\u201c It\u2019s the<\/strong> power. It\u2019s not part of the power, or one of the powers. It\u2019s the <\/strong>power of God for salvation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We ask: \u201cHow can we be so absolute?\u201d We live in a world of relativism, of no absolutes, or at least that is what is claimed. But, if everything is relative, then everything is meaningless. If everything is true, then nothing is true. As Luther points out: By ourselves we end up in spiritual pride or spiritual despair. That\u2019s why it\u2019s striking to come back to Paul where he is dealing with this kind of appeal to relativism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is our hope? Paul writes in 1 Corinthians about the truth of the gospel, the cross alone. He writes in 1 Cor 1:21-22: \u201cIn the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom . . . Jews demand signs\/miracles and Greeks seek wisdom . . . .\u201d The Greeks seek wisdom. He\u2019s talking about us, the non-Jews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He creates three contrasts. First, he writes in 1 Cor 1:27: \u201cGod chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise.\u201d We think of miracles and wisdom as power. The opposite of miracle and wisdom is the cross. The cross is an anti-miracle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, he writes: \u201cGod chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong\u201d (1 Cor 1:27). What is weak in the world to shame the strong is the cross.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And third, he writes: \u201cGod chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God\u201d (1 Cor 1:27-28).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over against \u201cEverybody has their own opinion,\u201d there is one answer: The cross alone. Christ alone. By grace alone. By faith alone. This is what it\u2019s all about. That\u2019s why we memorize 2 Cor 5:21: \u201cFor our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the holiness of God.\u201d It says \u201crighteousness\u201d but that includes holiness. He takes our sin and death and gives us his life and holiness forever. The best deal there ever was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the hymn, \u201cMy Hope Is Built on Nothing Less,\u201d in the fourth verse it says: \u201cWhen he shall come with trumpet sound, oh, may I then in him be found.\u201d It\u2019s not: \u201cI find him,\u201d but \u201cI am found.\u201d He has done it; he is doing it; and he will be doing it as the rock which stands forever. It is all summed up in the fourth verse:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen he shall come with trumpet sound,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh, may I then in him be found,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clothed in his righteousness alone,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Redeemed to stand before the throne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All other ground is sinking sand.\u201d Amen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Galatians 1:6-9<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A sermon for the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The hymn, \u201cMy Hope is Built on Nothing Less,\u201d is based on the parable in Matthew 7:24-27 about the wise man who built his house on the rock; \u201cand the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall because it had been built on the rock.\u201d In contrast, the foolish man \u201cbuilt his house on the sand; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nSelect here<\/a> to read more or here <\/a>for a pdf document.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8151"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8151\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8160,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8151\/revisions\/8160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}