In the name of Christ Jesus, dear fellow redeemed:
It should come as no surprise to you that the second lesson for today was taken from Romans. Beginning with the second Sunday after Pentecost, almost three months ago, you have heard twelve consecutive readings that covered a significant portion of the book. This systematic review was not a mistake.
Hear what Luther had to say about the value of Romans for the life of a believer: "This epistle is really the chief part of the New Testament, and is truly the purest gospel. It is worthy not only that every Christian should know it by heart, but also that he should occupy himself with it every day, as the daily bread of the soul." It is important for us to read and review Paul’s epistle to the Romans because it is vital for our faith and for our salvation.
This text from Romans is sometimes called a doxology. It is Paul’s song of praise. Specifically, Paul praises God for his willingness to open the gates of heaven to all people, and for his great patience with his stubborn Jewish countrymen.
Paul had been handpicked by God to be his spokesman, but not because there was something special about his character. Paul knew that he was a sinful human being with many weaknesses and shortcomings. He could plant the seed, but only God could make it grow. Therefore, Paul was more than willing to leave the important things, the matters of eternal life and death, to the Lord. Simply put, Paul let God be God.
In his doxology, Paul marvels at God’s goodness and praises God’s greatness. Through these words of Scripture, he encourages us to do the same. Let these words remind us of what an awesome God we have. Let these words remind us of what God has done and continues to do for his people. With that as our goal, I encourage you to…
LET GOD BE GOD!
If you look at these verses in your pew bibles, you will notice that they are different from the verses that come before and after them. The text looks like poetry on the page. If you study the punctuation, you will notice something else. There are three exclamation points in only four verses. These grammatical devices are employed to capture Paul’s excitement and enthusiasm. "Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!" Paul could not help but burst out in thanks and praise to God for his infinite wisdom.
Paul was privileged to see God’s wisdom at work in his own life. After all, who but God could have chosen Paul, a sworn enemy of Jesus and his followers, to carry the name of Jesus to distant lands? To put it in Paul’s own words, "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?" The obvious answer to both questions is "No one."
When Paul and his companions decided to travel to a neighboring region on their second missionary journey, God had other plans. In his wisdom, God led Paul in a different direction. Through the vision of the Macedonian man, God told Paul to carry the gospel across the Mediterranean Sea to Greece, and God richly blessed his efforts.
In the letter to the Romans, Paul expressed his deep desire to go to Rome. God made this visit happen, but in a most unusual way. Paul got a free trip from Israel to Rome . . . as a prisoner. While a prisoner awaiting trial in Rome, Paul was allowed to see people and preach the gospel even though he was under house arrest. Looking back, we are able to see the wisdom of God at work in these instances and throughout Paul’s life. The Lord’s will was always done, in his own way and in his own time.
As Christians, we readily recognize God’s limitless wisdom, but that recognition puts us in the minority. Paul tells us in I Corinthians that "the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing" (1:18). Many people in the world today do not see the God of the Bible as a wise or loving God. Karl Marx called religion "the opiate of the masses." In other words, the concept of God is merely a crutch for people, and Christians are naïve or even a little foolish if they believe in the fairytales of an antiquated book.
The truly enlightened know that God is no longer necessary. Especially in our high tech age, man has taken the place of God. We are led to believe that human reason has all the answers. Technology can solve all of our problems. Modern medicine is able to prolong life indefinitely. Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of Man!
And then we look at the world around us and see that nothing has really changed. Disease and hunger are everywhere. Wars rage on. Crime has not disappeared from society. People still die at a rate of 100%. Based on these facts, is it the message of the cross that is foolishness, or is it the ideas of human philosophy that do not make sense?
The secular world today wants us to believe that God is irrelevant, but this rebellion against God is nothing new. Man’s sinful desire to displace God is almost as old as the world itself. When the serpent was with Eve in the Garden of Eden, notice where he made his attack. Satan told Eve, "If you eat the forbidden fruit, you will become like God. If you just trust me, you will know the difference between good and evil."
When it comes down to it, Adam and Eve broke the First Commandment –You Shall Have No Other Gods - when they disobeyed God’s command. They coveted God’s power. They wanted to be equal to God. They sinned because they placed themselves above God.
Even though we are confessing Christians, we are not immune to sins against the first commandment. No, we do not bow down to foreign gods or worship idols. The fundamental issue for us is one of trust. In our heart of hearts, who do want to be in control? Do we believe that God is always looking out for us, or do we worry and fret about every detail of our lives?
The need to be in control can dominate our thinking at times. It is difficult for us to accept the fact that we are not always in control. Planning for the future is good in and of itself, but when we leave God’s will out of those plans, we elevate ourselves to a place that is reserved only for God. And with God out of the picture, we lose control over our eternal destiny. Let Paul’s words reassure us that we have no reason to worry. God is in control of every situation.
In his infinite wisdom, God directs the lives of his people. He is also the dispenser of divine justice. Paul stood in awe of God and said: "How unsearchable his judgments!" God’s "judgments" are more than verdicts handed down by a stern judge. God’s "judgments" include all of his decrees and decisions as Master of all things. God’s judgments go beyond human reason. It does not matter how intelligent you are. It does not matter how long you sit and contemplate God. His judgments are unsearchable and…
"And his paths beyond tracing out!" Literally, this means that God’s footprints cannot be tracked. You have probably seen a movie where a fugitive was running in the woods from a tracker who was hot on his trail. This tracker looks for clues – maybe some bent grass or broken tree branches – in order to determine the course of the fugitive. In the movies, the tracker almost always gets his man. There may be times, however, when he loses the trail, either in a river or on rocky ground. In the same way, God’s paths will never be uncovered. The human mind cannot fully understand the ways of God.
With these two similar phrases, Paul is reinforcing one basic truth. God is just, but his judgments are beyond our comprehension. In the immediate context, Paul applies this truth to God’s plan of salvation. In the verse before our text, Paul wrote: God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all" (11:32). God gave the law in order to show people their sin, so that they might see their need for a Savior and believe in Jesus for forgiveness. Because all people are sinful, this statement applies to everyone. This is God’s plan. This is the way God has chosen to lead people to salvation.
How do people respond? The sinful reaction is to question God’s plan. Something like: If God knew that people would sin, then why did he create the world in the first place? Why did God make it possible for men to sin? How can a loving God hold people accountable for sin if they are born sinful?
In contrast, notice how Paul reacts. He does not make any excuses. He does not curse God for making him a sinner. Instead, he praises God. He praised God for rescuing him from the punishment that his conscience told him he deserved.
We can learn from Paul’s example. When we see things happen in the world, we do not always understand why they happen. For example, it is difficult for us to see any good coming out of the terrible earthquakes in Turkey with death tolls in the tens of thousands. But from our earthly perspective, we can only see the tip of the iceberg. God sees all things. God knows all things. And all of his judgments are good and just. By faith, we trust that God is ruling over his creation for our good. By faith we are able to let God be God.
Paul praised God for his wisdom. Paul praised the Lord for his just judgments. These are important attributes of God, but something is still missing. A person may recognize that God is wise and powerful, but that knowledge will not bring him any closer to God. Any unbeliever can believe in a Supreme Being who controls the universe from afar, but that belief will not remove his sin and guilt. Above all, Paul had reason to thank and praise God in this doxology because he is the giver of divine gifts.
Paul had already asked two rhetorical questions. He borrows from the Old Testament book of Job to ask one more: "Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?" Originally, these were words that God had spoken to Job. Recall that Job was a believer who had fallen on hard times. In fact, he had lost everything. His family had been killed. His wealth was taken from him. Even his health had deteriorated. Job demanded to know WHY? What had he done to deserve this?
In Job’s mind, the answer was "Nothing," but God’s reply was firm. "Job, who are you to question me? What have you ever done for me? What do I owe you? Job, the question is not: What have you done to deserve this? The real question is: What have you done to NOT deserve this?" God dearly loved Job, but he wanted to remind him of the source of his blessings.
Paul uses the same question to give us the same reminder. We have done nothing for God. We can do nothing for God. Therefore, God owes us nothing. In fact, we owe God everything. Why? "For from him and through him and to him are all things." All things are "from God." God is the source of all. All things are "through God." The best laid plans of men will come to nothing without his approval. All things are "to God." Ultimately, the purpose of everything in this world is to give glory to God.
These thoughts may not give us any immediate comfort. In fact, they may strike fear in our hearts. If we examine ourselves, we have to admit that we can do nothing to earn God’s favor. We have no right to make any demands of God. If the sermon has shown anything up to this point, it is how we have failed to attain the perfection that God demands. We do not trust completely in his wisdom. We are not always willing to accept his divine judgments and decrees without question.
It is not difficult for us to say that we are willing to submit to God, but it is impossible for sinners to put those words into practice. When we come to the harsh realization that we bring absolutely nothing to the table, when we understand the cold, hard truth that the only payment God owes us is eternal death, then we have no other choice but to get down on our hands and knees and cry out: "God, have mercy on me, a sinner."
God comes to fallen sinners, and he lifts us up out of the pit of despair. Out of love and mercy, he fills us with divine gifts. The greatest of these gifts is unlike any other gift we have ever received. It did not come in a box. It was not wrapped in shiny paper with a decorative bow. God gave us the gift of his son. Jesus came to earth and died to wipe away our sins against the First Commandment, all our sins of worry and doubt. Jesus sacrificed his very life to set us free from the sins we have committed against all the commandments. Through Jesus, God has given us the greatest gift of all, the gift of eternal life.
With that knowledge, with the assurance that forgiveness is free and forgiveness is ours, we cannot help but join Paul with our own doxology, our own song of praise. We praise God for his divine wisdom. We praise the Lord for his divine judgments. Most importantly, we praise God for the divine gift of a Savior who has made us his own. To him be the glory forever!
Amen.