{"id":8204,"date":"2022-08-23T16:36:02","date_gmt":"2022-08-23T23:36:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/?p=8204"},"modified":"2022-08-30T06:28:10","modified_gmt":"2022-08-30T13:28:10","slug":"8204","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/?p=8204","title":{"rendered":"
“This rule: A cross-controlled view”<\/div>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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

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

Galatians 6:14-16<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may be surprised that we\u2019re singing a Lenten hymn, \u201cCome to Calvary\u2019s High Mountain,\u201d but it goes with Galatians 6:14-16: \u201cFar be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.\u201d Finally here at the end of Galatians there\u2019s a rule, something to go by, something that tells us what to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Someone has said: \u201cTheology bakes no bread. What\u2019s the use of it? What\u2019s important is how you live, what you do. We have to be practical. All of this other stuff doesn\u2019t do anything. Just tell me what to do.\u201d Here at the end of Galatians Paul says: \u201cPeace and mercy upon those who live by this rule.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To illustrate: Americans are the new Romans. The Romans were the engineers of the ancient world. They built roads, harbors, ships. They managed an empire for 500 years, and they made it work. Over these 500 years it\u2019s hard to think of notable philosophers, except for Seneca. When we think of people who wrote drama and poetry, there was Virgil and Cicero. But little compared to the Greek philosophers, poets, dramatists, and historians. The Greeks produced Alexander the Great, but that empire, which was one of the largest up to that time, lasted only fifteen years. He died when he was thirty-two. Then his empire fragmented. The Greeks were not empire builders. They were not those who created great systems of government, but they were the ones who did the thinking. And we are the Romans. We make it work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We want to know: What\u2019s the rule? What is to be done? If we look back on our history, did we ever produce any great theologians? People mention Jonathan Edwards in the middle of the Eighteenth Century. And Reinhold Niebuhr in the middle of the Twentieth Century. And that\u2019s about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And what about philosophers? There\u2019s Ralph Waldo Emerson, but he was more of a poetic philosopher. William James, but now he is largely forgotten. But otherwise, if we need theologians, we buy them out of Europe. If we need philosophers, we buy them out of Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is Paul in Gal 6:15 saying: \u201cThere is this rule. Finally, after six chapters, what we are supposed to do.\u201d The verse before \u201cthe rule\u201d says: \u201cFar be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world is crucified to me and I to the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here there is a translation problem. \u201cGlory\u201d and \u201cboast\u201d are the same thing. Paul is referring to Jeremiah 9:23-24: \u201cLet him who glories, glory in the Lord.\u201d He uses this verse three times, in Gal 6:14, 1 Cor 1:31, and 2 Cor 10:17. What he really means is: \u201cFar be it from me to boast, except in the cross of Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is he saying? In Gal 1:8-9 Paul wrote this amazing statement: \u201cBut even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that we preached to you, let him be damned. As I have said before, so now I say again, If any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be damned.\u201d Salvation is at stake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His opponents come to him and say: \u201cWho are you to say what is the gospel, to define it? Then Paul goes on to defend why he is an apostle and why this is the gospel. In 2 Cor 12:12 Paul  says: \u201cI can perform all the miracles that you do. I have had success starting congregations. But you know what I\u2019ll boast about? I boast about how I failed, how I was weak and in trouble but  \u2018when I am weak, then I am strong\u2019 (2 Cor 12:10). It\u2019s about God\u2019s doing, not my doing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then in Galatians 2:5 and 2:14 he says it\u2019s the \u201ctruth\u201d question. It\u2019s \u201cthe truth of the gospel.\u201d Over against Peter. Over against those from Jerusalem who have come to undermine him. It\u2019s \u201cthe truth of the gospel.\u201d Salvation is at stake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After this, he goes on with material about Abraham and Moses, but then he comes to the end and says: \u201cHere\u2019s the rule. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but a new creation\u201d (Gal 6:15).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Circumcision counts for nothing. We have no problem with that. We know we\u2019re not bound by the 613 laws of the Old Testament. But right away we\u2019re caught because the human heart is an idol-making machine: We end up saying: \u201cOf course, we\u2019re not going to follow all those Old Testament laws.\u201d And then we concoct another religion, a more modern, more enlightened one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some time ago a Baptist chaplain in a state Senate prayed in Jesus\u2019 name. The Senate fired him. No, you can\u2019t pray in Jesus\u2019 name. You have to pray to some God in general. All of the other religions, for example Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism, are allowed to pray in the name of their particular God. But Christians are supposed to pray to God in general because, after all, we all pray in our own way. Prayer is in all religions. There\u2019s nothing unique about praying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even the New Testament mentions God-fearers. In Acts 10:2 Cornelius, the centurion, is mentioned. They knew about people who were good, law-abiding, and even strict in their lives. Modernists end up not with Jewish law but with their own made-up religion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul says neither circumcision nor \u2013 and this is the kicker \u2013 \u201cnor uncircumcision.\u201d Modernists say let\u2019s give up all these old practices. But they can\u2019t escape their idol-making hearts. What Paul means is that you end up with lawlessness, but in our context we end up in victimology. After all, everybody\u2019s a victim. No one can be blamed because we\u2019re all victims. We end up in uncircumcision. Another religion, of course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Paul says is \u201cneither circumcision, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.\u201d The thing about Paul is that in his letters, he\u2019s often repeating himself. What does he mean by \u201cnew creation\u201d? In 2 Cor 5:16-17 he writes: \u201cFrom now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once regarded Christ from a human point of view, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Paul is saying is what the \u201cnew creation\u201d is. What\u2019s new is that we look at everybody with cross-colored glasses. That\u2019s a mixed metaphor, but it helps us see what Paul is saying in 2 Corinthians as well as Galatians. \u201cNo longer from a human point of view.\u201d You may think the opposite of a human point of view is a spiritual point of view. But what he says is: No longer from a human point of view but from the cross-controlled point of view, cross-colored glasses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1520 Luther wrote On Christian Freedom.<\/em> There\u2019s a sentence toward the end of that essay: \u201cThe Christian is perfectly free Lord of all, subject to none; the Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all\u201d (LW  <\/em>31:344).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both of them. At the same time. Completely. We are completely free and completely subject to all. At the same time, totally. Not partially this and partially that, but totally because it\u2019s a new creation. Everything is not only seen through the cross but controlled by that. It\u2019s a new creation. It\u2019s not one human-made-up religion or any other human-made-up religion. It\u2019s God\u2019s doing. Therefore Paul concludes: \u201cPeace and mercy upon those who live by this rule, upon the Israel of God\u201d (which in this usage is his term for \u201cchurch\u201d). Amen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

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

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Galatians 6:14-16<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

You may be surprised that we\u2019re singing a Lenten hymn, \u201cCome to Calvary\u2019s High Mountain,\u201d but it goes with Galatians 6:14-16: \u201cFar be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.\u201d Finally here at the end of Galatians there\u2019s a rule, something to go by, something that tells us what to do.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Someone has said: \u201cTheology bakes no bread. What\u2019s the use of it? What\u2019s important is how you live, what you do. We have to be practical. All of this other stuff doesn\u2019t do anything. Just tell me what to do.\u201d Here at the end of Galatians Paul says: \u201cPeace and mercy upon those who live by this rule.\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-8204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8204","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=8204"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8204\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8232,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8204\/revisions\/8232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}