June 23, 2019 Text: Galatians 3:23-4:7
Dear Friends in Christ,
Have you made your plans for the 4th of July? We all know what the 4th is right? The birthday of our country, Independence Day, July 4, 1776. Rein in your minutemen, my Christian friend, that’s not quite right.
July 4, 1776 was the birthday of 13 countries, which don’t exist anymore and were never formally named the United States of America. Here is what the Declaration of Independence actually said: “We…solemnly publish and declare that these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be, Free and Independent States.” Each had its own power to raise an army, conclude treaties, and elect a leader. Not one, but 13 separate countries. It wasn’t until 13 years later when “we the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union” wrote the Constitution, that we all became one. This new government and Constitution went into effect in 1789.
The holy Christian Church includes billions of souls, free and individual. We are scattered in thousands of denominations. We are diverse and independent and not always in harmony. St. Paul writes in our text that we as Christians are all one in Christ Jesus. How can that be?
“HOW CAN WE BE ONE IN CHRIST?”
Christian churches are not all in agreement. Thank you Pastor Obvious. You see it among your family members and your friends. You hear it from your co-workers and acquaintances. We see it even among our brothers and sisters in our own Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
Having been a Pastor in this Synod for almost 28 years I can say that we have had relative harmony the past few years. It wasn’t this way when I was a non- gray hair Pastor. But even now as I and our delegate Steve Parry vote for the synodical president and the church gets ready to meet in convention next month, we have some disharmony. Not a lot, but Steve and I get mailings urging a vote one way or another. This is because the church on earth is made up of individuals. Sinful, I want things my way, human beings. How can we be one in Christ?
You Mr. and Mrs. pew sitter understand this. Why? Because something inside you tells you that you aren’t even one with yourself. Are you always of one mind – in your own mind? Don’t we all do things that we don’t want to do? Haven’t we changed our minds about situations because we lived through them or were close to someone who went through something? Do you really know yourself or are you just blowin’ in the wind? What does it mean to say we’re all one in Christ Jesus when we’re not even one with ourselves?
Inside every Christian believer there is a war between believer and unbeliever. We are sinner and saint at the same time. The struggle will not go away. We are not as one with ourselves because the Christian can never be one with sin. This is also why we are not one with other Christians because they have the same conflict going on inside themselves. They may be glossing over a sin, not seeing a sin because of selfish motives or refusing to honor God’s Word on a certain subject. All doctrine is not true. Some is false. God expects us to study His Word and declare to the world what we believe just like the reformers did.
Isn’t this a little gloomy, Pastor? There is hope. Listen to the words of St. Paul in our text. “For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither male nor female, for you are all on in Christ Jesus.” (v. 26-28) We may look like a whole bunch of independent countries each going its own way, but beneath that, beneath it all, incredibly, the forgiveness we have by Baptism into Christ has formed a perfect union.
Wherever sin is forgiven, we are one. Wherever sin remains – as in false doctrine – separation must remain. But where sin is forgiven, we are one.
The beauty of that is that even with Christians from whom we must remain outwardly separate, we are one, because all true Christians – all who truly believe that Jesus’ death and resurrection has saved them – are forgiven, even those many believers who hold some teachings we find false. We will not be visibly one with them because we cannot be one with their sin. But we know that as we look at one another, inside we are one. “You are all one in Christ Jesus.”
We are all on in Christ as we declare His death and resurrection. We are all one in Christ as we stand in the Savior’s forgiveness. We are all one in Christ when we live in His love and mercy and grace. This how we CAN be one in Christ.
Amen.