Justified by faith
March 5, 2023 Lent 2
Welcome and Announcements
Called to Worship:
Jesus calls the people to follow him
He calls us to leave self behind and follow him
He calls us to take up our cross
to keep step with him and share the burden of the weight of the world
We are justified by faith
And faith compels us into action
Hymn: 410 Joyful joyful we adore you
Prayer of Adoration
We are people chosen from our generations to be Witnesses to the power of your creative and renewing Spirit alive in the world.
The Spirit showers upon us the gifts of God's love and calls forth fruit from our lives.
May our lives reflect the grace you have given us to be witnesses or your power and love. We worship you this day with great love and a deep commitment to be your people. We express our gratitude for all your graces, which empower our living and life itself.
Hear our confession as we dedicate ourselves again to be your people….
Unison Prayer of Confession:
O God, we confess that we know that Jesus calls us his own; but we would not receive him. We confess that we do not take time to weave tomorrow with faith. We do not take time to mend today when Jesus calls.
Our focus, O Lord, is far too often on us, our problems and our needs.
Turn our hearts in your way until we find our freedom to choose you, to follow you and to live for you. Amen
Assurance of Pardon
Having been justified by the blood of Jesus, we have been saved through Him. Be assured that we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, Therefore we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
The Peace
The peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Hymn: 677 My faith looks up to thee
Scripture Lessons:
Psalm 121 responsive
Romans 4: 1-5, 13-17
Sermon: Justified by faith
This week I looked up the various meanings of justification. At first it was just out of curiosity, and then….
I started thinking about the various meanings and how they can and have been applied in the lives of many people, sometimes people we have to deal with…. And sometimes US.
- To show something to be reasonable.
It can be argued that it is reasonable to give gift cards to the people living in the tents to buy fuel for heaters so they can be warm. It makes sense because they are going to do it anyway and they have fire extinguishers if they need them. That’s hard to argue with, after all we want the people to be able to stay warm, but when weighted against the high risk of fire it can also be argued that it is not reasonable.
- A good reason for something to exist.
Apparently, mosquitoes exist because they are the food source for bats. But wouldn’t we rather they just didn’t exist? Yet, they do and they have a purpose so their presence if justified.
- To square off a line of typing to make it even along the right margin.
How this happens is the computer or typesetter make slight adjustments in the distances between letters and words so that the lines end evenly. The rough edges are made smooth. But this does not change reality. It makes a 50 character line look like it takes up the same space as the 60 character line. It fools our eyes, but does not change reality.
- To be made righteous in the sight of God, by the death and resurrection of Jesus. This justification is given to us merely by our expression of faith in Jesus.
Sounds so simple, and yet in a way something that people have a lot of trouble with.
We seem to like being able to justify our actions and choices. We like being able to prove our right to exist especially in a realm that seems to deny our presence or our rights. And, we like to make slight tweaks in our behaviour to prove that we are good people.
Self aggrandizement, making ourselves look good, is a poor substitute for the work of grace that is freely given to us.
God on the other hand, has made a very reasonable choice to send his son to die for our sins because he wants us in a relationship with him. He knows that in our own power we are incapable of living a sinless life and fall short of his glory. Therefore, he chooses to give us his righteousness instead of our own sinfulness. A perfectly reasonable choice for God to make.
God gives us a reason to exist simply because he created us and he loves us. More than that he gives us a purpose and a calling that shows his love to the world, and shows those who do not yet believe that they are loved by him as well.
God does more than smooth out our rough edges and imperfections so that we look perfect. God’s transformation of us is far more than a cosmetic change, or outwardly change. God’s justification changes us from the inside out by giving us a new heart and filling us with peace and joy.
There is no place for our striving and working in justification by faith. This is all from God. All we need to do is believe.
This is an important thing to remember as we journey through Lent. As the days grow increasingly darker for Jesus, and as threat and danger come at him from many sides and even from his own followers, we are reminded that this is all being done for us.
Today’s reading from Romans also reminds us that faith is possible for us. It simply means setting ourselves aside and trusting God.
The example that Paul gives us of a person who lived by faith is Abraham.
Abraham was promised a land and great descendants, and yet for decades he wandered homeless and childless. Yet his faith didn’t waver. He continued to trust God. And in the end, even though he made questionable choices along the way, he gained many children through Hagar and through Sarah. And ultimately, he settled in the land God had promised him.
The difficulties, the unhelpful choices, the scoffing and the doubting were all a part of his journey of faith, AFTER—AFTER he had declared his faith in God.
God said I will give you a land flowing with milk and honey and I will make you the father of great nations. And Abraham believed God. That moment is when he was counted as righteous before God. Then, came the homeless and childless years. The choices along the way didn’t change God’s promise. Once the promise was accepted by faith it was Abraham’s gift from God forever. The intervening years until the promise was realized changed nothing.
As we ponder the lessons that Paul shows us in the life of Abraham, it is revealed to us that Abraham’s faith is tied to our own faith; we are all part of the same promise.
To all who believe in Jesus Christ that same gift of righteousness is given. Whether faith is easy for us or difficult for us in our journey does not change the promise. God’s righteousness belongs to us.
There is also a bigger point that Paul is making here. This gift is given to the ungodly, while they are still ungodly. While we were yet caught in a life of sin, Jesus came and died for us. We didn’t need to change our behaviour first. We didn’t need to be baptized first. We didn’t need to prove ourselves in any way.
That means that the believers that are descended from Isaac are justified by their faith in God’s gift through Jesus, not through circumcision—and that the descendants of Ishmael are also justified in their faith in God’s gift through Jesus.
This gift belongs to Gentiles as well as to Jews is the point being made here. God’s gift of righteousness is the great equalizer, making all of us equal with Jesus.
This emphasis on faith is the key point here. There were those who said that people first needed to be circumcised. That people first needed to convert to Judaism. That people first needed to follow the 10 Commandments and the Laws of Moses.
Paul points out that there is only one first thing in the gift of righteousness and that gift is received simply by faith. We express our faith, we get the gift and then God does all the rest of the work through us as he works his love in us until our hearts are his heart.
We take the journey with God, sometimes confidently, sometimes picking ourselves up out of the mud, sometimes in tears, sometimes in laughter; but always held in God’s hand as the people he created, loved and redeemed.
This reading from Romans reveals to us the character of God. God never wavers from his promise. This passage reveals why we dare to trust God, even when it looks like God is absent.
We have all lived through those times when it looked like the universe hated us; and we came through those times by holding onto God and trusting in God’s care. Abraham is the example of that. Faith does not make life easy—but it does assure us that God will remain with us today, tomorrow and for all eternity.
Today our faith reminds us that:
- God binds himself in the promises he makes.
- God justifies the ungodly, not waiting for them to change first.
- All people who believe, participate in the life of God’s covenant family and receive mercy through Jesus.
- Through the gift of righteousness God gives the gift of the Spirit, giving us that well-spring that feeds our faith and reminds us that God’s mercy and grace are ours forever.
Glory be to God we are justified by faith to be the righteousness of God. This is all we need to know. Amen
Tenebrae Liturgy
Lent 2
Jesus is being drawn to Jerusalem. Where is God calling you to? What is God calling you to do?
(Silent time.)
As we extinguish this light, we acknowledge the darkness and pain of injury done to the Earth and its ecosystems.
(A candle is extinguished.)
Let us pray:
All: Loving God, as we journey through this holy season of Lent, may we be open to your presence. Give us the strength to make the changes that are needed in our lives and the courage to take on the work of transforming the world. Amen.
Hymn: 472 We are God’s people
Offering
Doxology
Offertory Prayer
We give these offerings in gratitude,
rejoicing in the abundance of your gifts to us.
We give these offerings in faith,
trusting that you will provide for our needs.
We give these offerings in hope,
knowing you can use them to spread your love in this world.
And with these offerings, we give ourselves;
May we live with generous hearts, with open hands. Amen
Gathering Prayer Requests
Prayers of the People and the Lord’s Prayer
O God, grant that we may be sensitive to Your presence in our lives; by taking time to pause for reflection and remembrance.
During this Lenten season, O God, You enlighten us to walk in truth and in love; lead us to share the blessings we receive from You.
O Christ, Lent is the season to renew our lives; may Your Spirit help and guide us.
God of mercy, as we journey through this season of Lent, opening ourselves to Your grace, we ask that You will guide us into a true change of heart and reorientation of our lives.
Lord Jesus, You count as done to You all that we do for others; help us to love others as You love them. Hear us now as we pray for friend and foe, for lost and found, for all those whom you love.
Joys:
Concerns for:
Touch the hurting places of your world:
God of Eternal Love, We have made our commitment to You, and have started a new journey into purposeful growth.
But, we know that if we are to remain faithful we need Your help and Your strength.
So, we ask...
Teach us to pray with faith and read Your Word with understanding.
Teach us to worship with passion and gather together with love.
Teach us to give generously, serve compassionately and use our time mindfully, so that we may reflect Your goodness, and that others may discover Your grace through us.
We pray in Jesus Name who taught us to pray saying:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be they name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory, forever Amen.
Hymn: 683 I know not why such wondrous grace
Charge and Benediction
Look at your hands.
See the touch and the tenderness that Jesus imparts, and we resolve to be God’s own for the world
Look at your feet
We see the path and the direction to which Jesus calls us and we resolve to be God’s own for the world.
Look at your heart
We see the fire and the love the Spirit brings and we resolve to be God’s own for the world.
This is God’s world and we will serve God in it.
Sung Blessing
209 verse 1
O love that will not let me go