Prior to the sermon we looked at the following bible passages as part of the service of nails...(for more details contact me), to highlight some sins:
ISAIAH 52:13-15
MARK 12:38-40
MATTHEW 26:47-56
MATTHEW 27:20-24
MATTHEW 20:20-28
MATTHEW 27:27-31, 39-42
LUKE 6:22,32-36
Act of confession
Isaiah 53:4-6
God’s forgiveness
Isaiah 53:7-13
Today we have looked at scripture to highlight some of the things that nailed Jesus to the cross;
• Pride
• Betrayal
• Envy
• Indecision
• Cruelty
• Hatred
Think about it for a moment, which ones have you committed recently (a few moments to reflect)
There are some things to remember about this list of sins…..
The first is that these sins are not just something that happened way back then
they are not just limited to the time Jesus lived and died
they continue to be committed today
and we probably commit each of these sins in one way or another!
Secondly the list of our sins is a lot larger than this list….
All sins nail Jesus to the cross
So as we were putting this worship order together…I thought briefly of including as many sins as I could possibly think of
but the thought was only brief….
as I could see us still here on
Easter Monday and still going strong
So what are some of the sins we are committing today?
There are many
A good approach is to look at your life, not someone else’s
Your life
Then compare them to the ten commandments…
Many people think that they sin only when they do the wrong thing
like stealing… killing… committing adultery and this is how most of our laws work….
if you do something wrong you deserve to be punished
This leads to a narrow view of sin.
The view that sinning only occurs when you do something wrong…..
So some people opt to sit back and do nothing, believing that if they do nothing they have no hope of sinning
Well God’s got news for you
Do you know anyone like this?
I had a boss who once told me that the most dangerous thing for me to do in a particular job was to say Yes…because if I said Yes it meant I had to do something and there is a chance I would get it right but there is also a chance that something would go wrong…on the other hand if I was to say no….I wouldn’t have to do anything and nothing could go wrong…, and then he said with a smirk….but of course nothing would ever happen.
And when we look at Martin Luther’s explanations to the Ten Commandments, which are simply summaries of scripture
we discover that of course we sin when we do the wrong thing…
but this is only partly the story…..
We also sin when we avoid doing the right thing….
In short we sin when we avoid showing love to God and love to our neighbour
To see how this works lets have a quick look at the seventh commandment in Martin Luther’s Small Catechism…
not only does it say you shall not steal…that we should not take our neighbour’s money or possessions, or get them in any dishonest way
it also says we are to help our neighbours improve and protect his possessions and income.
Many of us would probably say that we have never stolen a thing from anybody….but how many of us could say that we have always helped our neighbours improve and protect what is theirs…have we always followed Paul’s command in Philippians 2:4, to not only look out for our own interests but also the interests of others.
When was the last time you stopped to help someone?
Frequently we are totally concerned about ourselves….
about protecting and improving our possessions and income…..
justifying that we have worked hard for what we have
this becomes wrong when we do it to such an extent that we use it to justify why we don’t have to help others
when we place I in the centre of our world
By the way you know what else I is the centre of….SIN
When we do this we forget about our neighbours and forget about helping them survive and improve their situation in life. This is not a new problem…it also existed back in the times of the early church…listen to Paul writing to the Galatians:
13 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.
Just think for a moment about the people around you….
how could you help them protect their income and possessions?
What could you do to help someone improve their quality of life?
Silence for a few seconds
and when you do this….
you are showing them God’s love…but this is not good enough to gain you a place in heaven…
as we will see in a few moments
only Jesus can do this for you
The consequences of not meeting the commandments perfectly
the consequences of sin….
Is that You
That is right You nailed Jesus to the cross.
It sounds pretty harsh doesn’t it….
As I kid I thought this statement was stupid:
first I wasn’t there…
secondly ahh come off it God is bigger, stronger, mightier than I am, how could I nail Him to the cross
and there are some people today who refuse to accept the statement that they along with you nailed Jesus to the cross
they would rather say it was someone else
its easy to pass the blame onto others isn’t it…
it can make us feel good…
suggesting that someone else was responsible
and not ourselves
but I think they have missed the point on two accounts
The reality is that we all sin
listen to what God says through Paul in
In Romans 5:12
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned
and in Romans 3:23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
the reason for this is that sin is not just something we do or don’t do…
it is who we are….
we are born sinful…
just like we have a bit of our mother
and a bit of our father in each of us….
Sin is also part of us
However Paul continues
in the following verse
He states
and all are justified freely by his grace
through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Now this sounds complicated but in simple language it basically means
Jesus came as a free gift for you
not only this
but he has given you an even greater gift….
He has accepted the punishment you deserve….
The punishment you should have received for being imperfect
as Isaiah 53:6 says he takes on the iniquities of us all
It wasn’t as if we happened to corner Christ
that he had to accept our punishment
No he let us nail Him to the cross…..
He says to you everyday….
give me your sins….
let me deal with the consequences of your sins
Let me receive the punishment you deserve
He has allowed himself to accept the nails that should have been placed in my hands and your hands
He has taken not only the pain…
but the death penalty you should have deserved
In the movie Pearl Harbor there is a scene that demonstrates this
Two friends Rafe and Danny are airforce pilots. Rafe’s plane crashes and then he is shot at by some Japanese soldiers. In order to save Rafe’s life….Danny crashes his plane into the Japanese soldiers. Which results in Danny being seriously injured….and eventually he dies…He gave his life so his best friend could have a chance to live.
In the same way Jesus does something for you that results in him being tortured…punished….and killed
so that you and I become acceptable to God
so that we could be considered good enough for heaven
so we have a chance at life
He has taken on the pain that you should receive…
so we can benefit
giving blood is a little bit like this isn’t it
you may experience a little bit of pain when the needle is inserted
but when you give blood you are giving not necessarily so you can benefit
but so someone else can benefit…
so someone else may even have life
Jesus experiences far more pain for us
so we can benefit
isn’t that amazing
isn’t that wonderful
that God would do that for you!!!
And whats even more amazing He does it for you even though you don’t deserve it
Even though your sins are your own responsibility
Infact such an action is pretty amazing
And as the writer of 1 Peter tells us
Christ suffered and died once for sins,
the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.
This shows two things
first he was not guilty of any sin….but he died so the guilty
(and that is everyone…you and me) maybe brought to God
and secondly his death on the cross is the payment that is effective for all sins
that’s right for all sins…past, present and future…
and this includes every single one of your sins…even those you may not be aware of…
And he even died so that we can be freed from our sinful nature
Wow how generous is our God?
so today we will leave in silence….
remembering Jesus died for me and for you
and as you leave you are invited to hammer a piece of red paper representing our sins to the cross….
as a symbol of Jesus taking on the punishment for all your sins….
That you nailed Jesus to the cross
as reminder that he did this so your sins are forgiven
not by what you do but by what Jesus has done for you
that he is willing to allow your sins to be used to nail him to the cross
so you can enjoy…
can experience an eternal life with Him and His father
and all the riches of heaven
Amen
