A Fire And Brimstone Sermon?
Text: Galatians 5:16-24
In the name of Jesus. Amen.
A foul-smelling accumulating of mental and emotional garbage…
Repetitive loveless cheap sex…
Frantic and joyless grabs for pleasure…
Following trinket gods and foolish superstition…
A fascination with magic-show religions…
Paranoid loneliness...
Unsparing cutthroat competition…
A never-ending, all-consuming, and never-satisfired wanting of material goods…
An unhinged and brutal temper…
A hard heart refusing to love or be loved…
A continually divided and fighting home…
A heart that burns with jealousy, wanting to bring other people down around you…
An unwillingness to submit personal opinions to objective truth…
A vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival and creating factions…
Avoiding reality and running to uncontrolled addictions…
Anyone living this kind of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Yes, you heard that correctly.
Anyone making a habit of these kinds of things will not share in the blessings of God’s Kingdom but secure a special place in hell. You have been warned.
But Pastor – isn’t this a bit too extreme to talk this way?
Dear friends, we are used to hearing stories of the old American preachers who preached fire and brimstone sermons. While there can be much to criticize about some of the theology of these old American preachers, we must admire their convictions, how these older pastors did not care about being scoring popularity points by their community or being liked by parishioners but instead had a serious conviction about the problems of sin.
I’m afraid, though, that future generations will look back to our present generation and talk about today’s ministers who preached - not fire and brimstone sermons - but pastors who wore Hawaiian shirts and preached unicorn and lollypop sermons.
And so, back to the point; is it too extreme to talk this way?
No, it is not. The reason being – your sinful nature and mine are always active. Yes, indeed, since our sinful natures are always active, we must always be warned repeatedly. Today’s generation struggles with the sinful nature just as much as previous generations. Friends, let’s be honest; it isn’t as if the sinful nature is not present and currently active in our world, church, and communities right now.
And so, today’s warning from the Epistle of Galatians - which was preached to us at the beginning of this sermon - is needed. Furthermore, Paul’s warning from our Epistle Reading should - as our ancestors used to say – scare the dickens out of you and me. Today’s reading from the Epistles of Galatians should rattle your cage - before it might be too late.
Dear friends, you and I must heed the Apostle Paul’s warning in the Epistle Reading this morning. Paul tells you and me very clearly that if we make a habitual practice of these kinds of things, we will forfeit ourselves from the Kingdom of God. In other words, if you are not careful, you can drive out the Holy Spirit from your hearts, harden your conscience, let the old Adam have free reign, and wind up in hell on the last day.
Awe, but you may say, I do not do these overly gross and crazy sins that the Apostle Paul mentions. Be careful, dear friends. Be very careful. Yes, some sin is more dangerous than other sins. Murdering is more damaging than telling a white lie. Anarchy Is more hurtful than gluttony. Having an affair is more detrimental than gossiping. However, this is not the point that Paul is making. Instead, Paul is clearly saying to you and me:
“Dear Christian – yes, you who call yourself a Christian, walk by the Holy Spirit. Follow the leadership and voice of the Holy Spirit as presented to you in Holy Scripture. And do not give in to the compulsions of your old Adam. Do not live your life always to get your own way all the time. Do not abandon the God that loves you. Do not get cozy with your selfish nature. Do not spit on the Spirit. Do not trample on the blood of Christ. Do not live in unbelief.”
It is important to understand that Christians do fall into sin quite regularly. There is no such thing as a perfect Christian. For example, King David fell into horrible adultery with Bathsheba, and he also caused the death of her husband, Uriah. Peter also denied Christ the night before Jesus was crucified. That is to say; the Bible is full of examples of Christians who have failed. However, to the point; even though many of these sins would be classified as great sins, they were not committed in contempt of God. They were not committed with hatred of God in mind. Instead, they were committed in weakness. Yes, they were committed with Christian weakness. Furthermore, when they were committed, individuals like Peter and David repented of their sins.
And so, the Apostle Paul’s warning to you and me this day is to be careful of going down the path of habitual-hard-hearted-stubborn-sinful-rebellion… no matter what the sin is. In other words, while different sins can have drastically different consequences in this life, all sin – no matter what it is – can exclude us from the kingdom of God if we make the sin a hard-hearted-continual practice in our life. When we do this – no matter what the sin – we make sin our friend and deny our need for Christ.
And so, if you find yourself caught up in a sin due to your weakness, repent and return to Christ. On the other hand, if you have made a habitual practice of a certain sin, making it normal or even celebrating it - knock it off! Stop pretending that you are not a sinner – repent and return to Christ as well.
Dear friends, let’s be blunt and truthful right now: When we read the Epistle from Galatians and the Apostle Paul gives his warning, it should drive everyone to Christ for forgiveness, life, and salvation. However, if you hear that list from the Apostle Paul and say, “I guess I’m doing o.k. I’m better than most.” Then, I regret to tell you that you have deceived yourself. You are just not that holy. Furthermore, beware of your pride and failing to consider yourself a sinner like everyone else. Beware, for Christ only dwells with sinners. And so, repent and return to Christ, for in Christ you are crucified, in Christ you are risen, in Christ you have free forgiveness, hope and everlasting life. In Christ, you walk by the Holy Spirit.
Baptized Saints, as a Church here at St. Paul’s, we live and walk not by the sinful nature but by the power of the Holy Spirit working through the Word and Sacraments. And so, what this means is that we are not governed at St. Paul’s by the deeds of darkness. This church will not and cannot bend its knee to any pet sins or personal agendas soaked in selfishness, for that would mean that we walk in darkness. Furthermore, this means that there is no such thing as a holy hierarchy of Christians here at St. Paul’s. In other words, since we all walk by the Holy Spirit, anything good in this church is not due to your or my own glory. How can we take credit for anything good when we all walk by the Holy Spirit to begin with? Think of it this way: if our identity is in Christ and the Holy Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in us - how can there be any room for boasting of oneself? If the Lord creates good works for you and me to walk in, how can there be any claim for personal superiority? If the Lord gave us life, redeemed us, and sustains us, how can we not give all glory unto Him?
Baptized Saints, anything sinful in St. Paul’s is on us – and we need to repent unto Christ. And anything good in this church is because of the gifts the Lord brings into our lives. And so, continue to walk in the Spirit – continually receiving from the Word and Sacraments while repenting constantly for the silly tactics of your old Adam. Together with you brothers and sisters in this church – be centered in Christ and His gifts with unity, purpose, and assurance.
You belong to Christ, Baptized Saints, walk by the Spirit, and rest in the Lord’s gifts.
In the name of Jesus. Amen.
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