I Can Quit Whenever I Want... Yeah, right.

FEBRUARY 10 – 1st Sunday of Lent

Romans 6:1-14 – 1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 5 If we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. 14 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

This week we're going to focus in on the idea of the newsletter article for February, which is kind of my focus this year for Lent. Here it is if you haven't seen it:

What Can I Give Him?
This is a question that we usually hear asked with the season of Christmas, in the song by that title or in The Little Drummer Boy. This year I’m inviting you to ask that question during Lent. Usually we think of something we give up during Lent as a sacrifice we make to identify with Jesus’ fasting in the wilderness for 40 days before he was tempted by the devil (see Matthew 4:1-11). So people give up things they love to identify with Christ, like sweets or meat on Fridays.
This year perhaps you could give up something else. Rather than giving up something you love, why not give Christ a gift he really wants. How many times in scripture do we hear something like we heard in Psalm 40 last week, “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but open ears,” or in other places where God calls for a contrite heart or compassion for the poor instead of sacrifices made for him. So if you’re going to give up something for Jesus, rather than give up something you love, why not give up something he hates. One of your sins.
Two weeks ago in the sermon on how we are related to Christ as I concluded with the analogy of the Orphan Annie turning away from her old life to accept Daddy Warbuck’s offer of a new life, I challenged us all to show our gratitude to our Father in heaven by doing the same, giving up something of our old selves, like judgment or bitterness or independence. This week, as we continue to look at the Heidelberg Catechism, I think of Q&A 43 “Q. What further advantage do we receive from Christ's sacrifice and death on the cross? A. Through Christ's death our old selves are crucified, put to death, and buried with him, so that the evil desires of the flesh may no longer rule in us, but that instead we may dedicate ourselves as an offering of gratitude to him.”
This year, as Lent begins on February 6th and as we approach Holy Week when we remember Christ’s death on the cross, why not give up part of the old self for 40 days (then maybe forever)? You don’t have to share it with anyone else. You can keep it between you and your Lord. Look at your life. Where are you consistently sinning or living apart from God? Lust? Greed? Unkindness? Prejudice? Gossip? Envy? Unforgiveness? Ferret out a sin and give it up for the one who loved you enough to go to the cross.

If you've got some time to comment, I'd love to hear your reflections & responses to the article & scripture passage.

-Pastor Eric