“Err on the side of the Gospel” is what we pastors are sometimes told. That doesn’t mean put the best construction on a person when rumors are heard or when trying to understand a person’s motivation. The phrase “To err on the side of the Gospel” is almost always said as a form of permissiveness. To give permission for wrong practice, sinful lifestyles, decisions, the casting away of Scriptural teaching, while claiming it is to be done “for the sake of the Gospel”; so that people are not turned off or turned away to the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, supposedly.
Sometimes we get confused in today’s modern Christianity. A “Christianity” which seems to tend more towards excuses: almost an “anything goes” mentality. Whether we are talking morally, ethically, liturgically. We hear this: “Don’t be mean. Don’t be close minded. Don’t offend. Don’t judge.” “We are saved by grace through faith, right? Everybody sins, so why not just love people and let grace abound?”
The truth is: Grace is not permission to be sinful. A permission to indulge the flesh. It is not permission to make excuses and take the easy way out. God does not and did not redeem humanity through the precious life and death of Jesus Christ to give you, me, or anyone else permission to sin willfully, wantonly, and unashamedly.
Any pastor, any so-called teacher, who gives permission to relax the teachings/doctrines of Holy Scripture, the laws, rules, and recommendations of Scripture are to be judged. Not by me, but by the Words of Jesus Christ Himself in this morning’s Gospel: “whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
Once again: Grace is not permission to do whatever we want, whenever we want, and then just expect to be given a pass by God.
However, this does mean that it is ok to add to the Law or to use it to build oneself up in pride. Do you remember the scribes and pharisees? They were the experts in the Law. The Pharisees not only tried to abide by the letter of the law in the 10 commandments, but they even added to those Laws in order to become righteous in the sight of God and their communities. “Righteous” means to be blameless in the eyes of the Law. Doing what is “right”. Jesus said: “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
How can our righteousness exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees? Are we saved by the righteousness that comes from the works of the Law? The answer: yes. Yes, we are saved by the righteousness that come from the works of the Law. How is it possible to be saved by the works of the Law? We are born into original sin. Even if we try to follow the Law in every way, we all still daily sin much, not only that, but we often use “original sin” and the universality of sin as an excuse for adding to our debt, by breaking the Law of God willingly, proudly, in thought, word, and deed.
So how can you, me, or anybody else have a righteousness that exceeds the scribes and pharisees by the obedience to the Law? How are we saved by the works of the Law?
Through Jesus Christ. Jesus is the one whose righteousness far surpasses the artificial and imperfect righteousness of the pharisees and scribes and ourselves. The sinless Son of God came and joined Himself to flesh and bone and loved God perfectly in our stead, He loved His neighbor perfectly, in our stead. He ministered and loved even those who seemed to be outcasts and the greatest sinners of society. Yes, He ate and drank with those who were prostitutes and tax collectors among others, but such is what they “were”: past tense. Jesus did not give them permission “to keep on sinning on”, for them to “you be you”, to “go back to that same old sin and way of life”. He did not give permission, but He did give forgiveness of sin, and a release from the bondage to temptation to pridefully sin, He took away the guilt of sin. He came to save you and me not so that we could sin boldly so that grace may abound, but that we could be freed from sin by Grace in order to be the people God originally created us to be: new and holy creations now in Jesus Christ.
In order to bring that righteousness to the unrighteous, Jesus also had to take the place of sinners in the judgement that sin deserved. A painful death, a rejection and judgement by God at Golgotha, to experience hell upon the cross. It was not the flood of Noah’s days, nor the fire and brimstone at Sodom and Gamorrah, where God’s terrifying presence and wrath upon the sin of the world was witnessed here on earth. It was here at the cross of Jesus. this has become the place of ultimate Sacrifice, Golgatha is the true mount Zion, the mountain of deliverance. Jesus did not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it, for you.
In the flood of Holy Baptism you have been brought into that sacrificial death, into Jesus Christ’s righteousness by the obedience of the Law. He has taken you into Himself, so that you and your sinful flesh would be crucified with Him, your sins buried in the tomb, and now you are and have been raised with Him in newness of life. You have died to sin, to be made alive by His grace, to believe in Him, and do the works of the Law in the righteousness of Christ by His Spirit even now in this life.
Do we cease from sinning here on earth? Can we become perfected in soul and mind here on earth? The heretical Nazarene church and others would say “yes”. The Bible says: No.
The progressive churches and false teachers would say to that, if you can’t be perfect, then sin all you want and do so with pride. No.
Neither is a correct reaction to God’s love, grace, nor the freeing power of Jesus Christ’s work of atonement for sin.
We cannot ourselves perfectly fulfill the demands of the Law as long as this stubborn fallen flesh clings to us. That does not mean we should give up and give ourselves permission to sin, nor does it mean that we should judge whether or not we are saved by the numbers of our good deeds or measure ourselves against others.
We should realize that we do not want to sin because it separates us from God and destroys our faith. Therefore, we should measure ourselves according to the Law in repentance, returning in hope again to the Gospel: to the cross of Jesus Christ. This is the only place where life changing, life giving, forgiving of sin is given. Returning to our baptisms, to the place where Jesus has placed His sign and seal of His Spirit upon us. We confess our sins in true contrition, being sorry, not wanting to return to sin, not excusing ourselves, not placing ourselves back in those situations where we are sure to fall again into temptation.
We are then made pure once more by the blood of Jesus. We are given the power of Christ’s forgiveness once more. We are freed to be His people. To live in humility, to be selfless, to be kind to one another, tender hearted, caring. To lift one another and encourage one another in our earthly journey and pilgrimage to the Promised land of God’s eternal heavenly glory.
God comes to us and gives us the wisdom of His Word, His sacraments, the liturgy, the teachings and doctrine through which the Holy Spirit feeds us and guides into all Truth as We live in Christ, having been anointed in God’s Triune name. To sustain us, and give us strength against temptation, He affirms His truth and His love and His bond to us by coming to us in Christ’s crucified and raised body and blood in the bread and wine. Here we are reminded that Jesus has overcome the world. He has overcome even our weakness and sin, and as we abide in Him, He will abide in us with His grace and power.
Dear friends, remember, to relax the Law and to give permission for willfully sinning is really to take away from the work of Christ. It is abusing God’s grace. It is saying “God, you are a sucker, we don’t appreciate you or Christ’s sacrifice. We don’t believe it. We only believe in ourselves.” Lord preserve us from this unbelief!
Let us, instead, stand firm in the freedom of the Law fulfilled, free to be Christian, His redeemed children. We have His righteousness which exceeds the pharisees and scribes, the righteousness of Christ Jesus who fulfilled the Law for you. We are a new creation because we have been brought into Christ and have His power. As God told us through St. Paul: “We know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him. So, you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
In Jesus Christ, we will be kept in that baptismal grace for forgiveness and life, until we receive “in full” the resurrection of our bodies in Jesus Christ. Jesus, who shall come again to take us where we shall live forever with Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness. This is most certainly true, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.
Pr. Aaron Kangas