Easter Six

May 17, 2020 | Easter 6 | Acts 17:22-31, Psalm 66:8-20, 1 Peter 3:13-22, John 14:15-21 | Evan McClanahan |

 

In Christian theology, in Christian history, and in the pages of scripture itself, there is a constant tension. It is never fully resolved, or, let’s just say people still debate the point. It has led to all manner of groups falling down on one side or the other of the questions that this tension brings to the surface.

 

The tension is over the exact relationship of God’s grace and our responsibilities. This is, in many respects, the entire question of the Reformation.

 

But rather than litigate history all over again, I would like to simply consider the difficulties that we see in the texts before us today. For, on the one hand, Peter speaks to being saved through baptism. This seems to be a clear text about the sovereign grace of God, God working through means and sacraments, God working through water and the Word to do something for us that we cannot do for ourselves. And then, Jesus says “They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by the Father…” This seems to have a different tone. A tone which isn’t about what God has supernaturally done for us, but what we are to do for God to merit his love.

 

Given what seem to be different tones, the exact relationship that we have with God can be, well, confusing. Are we passive recipients of God’s love? Or are we active doers and obeyers of the Law? Even today, these questions not only divide the Lutheran and Roman Catholic camps, but Protestant camps as well. Contrary to popular belief, Lutherans and Roman Catholics have not bridged the fundamental divide of the Reformation as we still understand grace and obedience and cooperation in different ways. Among Protestants, namely those who are in the free will Baptist camp and those who fall on the side of God’s absolute sovereignty in all things, cannot find common ground regarding this tension.

 

First, let’s take a step back and ask some fundamental questions. What is the nature of God? What does He know? What is relationship to both time and knowledge? Does he know of all future events? Does He know of all events because he possesses mere foreknowledge or does He know of future events because he has decreed them to take place? If God knows all things, does that mean that mean He knows who His elect are before the foundation of the world as Ephesians 1 seems to indicate, or does He know which people are elect because He knows who has freely chosen to accept Him into their hearts and obey His call?

 

You can see how there might be some tension surrounding those questions. Some argue that, essentially, men possess a freedom of the will that, if used to be obedient to God, the blessings of God follow. This was the clear fight of the Reformation with Rome who argued that men, in fact, possessed this capacity while Luther argued that they did not. So while some argue that it is not because of our obedience that God loves us and chooses us, rather, it is because God loves us and chooses us that we are obedient! You see it’s a question of cause and effect. Do we obey because we are loved, or are we loved because we obey?

 

What is really being debated is just how active we are in our life of faith and how passive we are in our life of faith. And let me tell you, it can be a very delicate balance to get right, especially from the pulpit. For on the one hand, I want you to clearly understand that you cannot save yourself, but rather, God has graciously paid the necessary price for your salvation and in the waters of baptism has claimed you as His own. On the other hand, we are still governed by the good Law that God has given us, summarized as “Love God with your heart, mind, soul, and strength” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

 

Let’s look a little more at the verses from John’s Gospel. The question is, “Are these words of command? Is Jesus telling us what we must do to be good followers of Jesus, or what we will do because we are followers of Jesus?” He says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” This is what you would call a “descriptive” verse rather than a “prescriptive” verse. This describes what followers of Jesus will do, rather than saying, “This is what you must do to be my follower.” And that is good news because if perfect obedience is a requirement to follow Jesus, we all fall short. But he says we can obey or strive to obey because we have been given the Spirit of God. We have not been left orphaned. Each and every Christian truly possesses the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit of God animates us to do what is right and pleasing to God.

 

I am reminded of an old song…it is not in our hymnal, so we never sing it. It is often thought to be a Quaker song, but in fact it was penned by a Baptist minister. I believe it beautifully summarizes our relationship to obedience as Christians. It’s called “How Can I Keep from Singing” and if you just Google that phrase, you will that there are probably dozens or hundreds of versions of it. Here are the opening lyrics:

 

“My life flows on in endless song;

Above earth’s lamentation,

I hear the sweet, tho’ far-off hymn

That hails a new creation;

Thro’ all the tumult and the strife

I hear the music ringing;

It finds an echo in my soul—

How can I keep from singing?”

 

Indeed, I believe that is what Jesus is saying. If you follow me, how can you keep from singing? How can you keep from obedience? The two are so utterly connected that obedience becomes a matter of habit, the ease of a changed heart, and a compulsion that needs no motivation.

 

When Jesus speaks of obedience, he is assuming a “Christian” audience, or an audience that already desires to follow him. So it makes all the sense in the world for him to speak of loving him means obeying him. And of course it does not mean that mere obedience makes you a follower of Jesus any more than a doer of the Law made you a lover of God. For there have been many who did outward works of obedience but did not seek God with their whole heart. But Jesus is saying that true faith produces true obedience even if obedience is not evidence of true faith.

 

In a similar vein, let us consider the passage from 1 Peter. Again, we hear a passage about “doing good”. Our first verse today reads: “Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good?” Peter goes on, assuming that his audience is Christian, and he tells them to continue to “sanctify Christ as Lord”, a key to understanding the famous apologetic command that follows, “be prepared to offer an apologia for the hope that is within you.”

 

He then speaks about Jesus preaching to the spirits in prison who died during the time of Noah, presumably for their disobedience towards God. He mentioned that Noah and the eight were saved by water and that our baptism, likewise, saves us. Now we have come to a key passage about baptism and we are right back to those questions about our active or passive relationship to God. Peter writes: “Baptism, which [the flood] prefigured, now saves you — not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience…”

 

Well, there you have it, many Lutherans will say. Baptism saves. The mere act of it – like the mere act of obedience some say – is what makes you a Christian. But just as Jesus assumed his audience was those who desired to follow him, so, too, did Peter assume that his audience was those who desired to follow Jesus. So does baptism save? Yes, of course, it saves those who trust in God with their very life! We are saved by faith through grace, apart from outwork works of obedience, including baptism. And those who are saved are – as a description of the Christian life – obedient. Metaphorically speaking, “How can you keep from singing?”

 

So I would like to resolve this tension, or really, end the debate. And I’d like to do it by suggesting that, of course, Christians are obedient. Christians love the Law. Christians follow Jesus’ commandments. And mere obedience does not make you a follower of Jesus and your works will not save you, for even the heathen can obey. Also, because you are a sinner, your obedience will never be perfect. Rather, as followers of Jesus, we possess the Spirit, and therefore, we desire to do better. We can’t help but to do so!

 

So when you hear all of this language of obedience, don’t let it concern you. Obedience is what you will desire if you love Jesus. Love will precede obedience. And why would you love Jesus? Well, how could you not? Amen.