Romans 7:15-25 July 6, 2014

The Off Ramp from Sin City

Since yesterday was the Fourth of July, what better time to pay homage to the 30 th

President of the United States, that master of mischief, that wisecracking ball of fire Calvin Coolidge? Of the two Calvin Coolidge stories that I know, this one is my favorite. According to a famous story told about him, after he had returned from a Sunday church service Mrs. Coolidge asked him what the sermon had been about. “Sin”, he said. “Well, what did the minister say about it?” she asked. Coolidge said: “He was agin it.”

For so many folks outside of the faith community, Christians are known as a group of people who seem to be against having fun. There are millions of Christians who can recite a list of behaviors that are sinful and are to be avoided. To the credit of the United Methodist Church, our list used to include dancing, card playing, alcohol, and going to the movies (or, as it was called back in the day, “the picture show”). That movie thing would have been a deal breaker for me. And, to be honest, to be a truly open church to all persons, we still have work to do. We just have to stop making up lists of unacceptable practices designed to keep people out. We can debate the fine points of the law and miss the point of God’s love.

That’s what I believe the apostle Paul is saying to us today in his letter to the church in Rome. Paul knew the Law of Moses and all of the rabbinical teachings against sin. But still, he struggled, as every person does, with wanting to do the right thing and still do the wrong thing.

Jesus knew the problem with the Law before Paul figured it out, so he took all of those rules and “sin” categories that we would continue to fail to keep perfectly and turned them into the kinds of relationships that could bring us into a spiritual walk with God and our neighbor. “Love the Lord your God. Love your neighbor.”

My understanding of sin is that it is the self-motivated, self-centered, desire to get as much out of life as you can. The focus is on you and, consequently, anything that gets in your way must be dealt with in short order. This idea of individualism can then grow to the size of a nation, a religion or an extremist cult. Sin starts out promisingly enough in likable forms like career paths or life goals, but because the final destination is designed to help you end up on top, it cannot be the way of God. (And, by the way, as high-functioning mammals, we already have the upper hand on this planet.)

The Good News of Jesus Christ is that God’s love is for all persons and love is shown through a life in growing service to all. It’s no sin to achieve great things if you do so by making a way for others. But the spiritual life is something that you can’t get by working harder, but by inviting God into relationship. On our own, we are powerless to make this happen. But, then, being on our own is the problem.

If your idea of a good time is jetting up to the Islands to get drunk and enjoy the music and maybe hook up with a stranger, I’m not going to try to persuade you that you didn’t have a good time. And, for a lot of people, the weekend is a great time to get away from the humdrum drudgery of the workweek. But shouldn’t folks made in God’s image enjoy life more? What if you could discover a purpose in life in which you could really give yourself away and discover the joy that comes when you see yourself as a child of God?

It’s a growth process and there’s a learning curve. Jesus always spoke of second chances and the art of forgiveness; that’s how we move away from sin and self and towards love and others.

Some first marriages and second marriages are terrible, simply because there is the desire to use another person for self-focused goals. That’s sin. When you find the person that you love so much you are willing to put yourself in second place, that’s a life of service. That’s spiritual and that’s the love of God.

When you work yourself hard to make a living at a job you don’t love so that you can provide for your family and get that second home on Catawba, it may not be necessarily sinful, but it’s exhausting. When you retire and start spending time caring for your grandkids and giving back to the community, that’s spiritual and that’s the love of God.

We share in the bread and the cup today because we need the love of Christ in our lives. We need the encouragement of God and the love of others to find true meaning. We need to patient with each other and humble in our own self-assessment.

Sin is real. Living for self is natural and expected. Love is real. Living for others is a spiritual gift that reveals the truth that you are a child of God. People of faith are against sin because it moves us away from God and others. The most powerful forces at work in the world nailed Jesus to a cross. Christ died, giving His life for us and showing us what love really looks like. Come, take, and receive. Take the off ramp from Sin City and enter into the love of God. “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”