There are three different sermons on this page. Most look at all of verses 1-23

Mark 7:1 The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and 2 saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were "unclean," that is, unwashed. 3 (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles. )  5 So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, "Why don't your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with `unclean' hands?" 6 He replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: " `These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 7 They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.' 8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men." ( 9 And he said to them: "You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! 10 For Moses said, `Honour your father and your mother,' and, `Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.' 11 But you say that if a man says to his father or mother: `Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is Corban' (that is, a gift devoted to God), 12 then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother. 13 Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that." ) 14 Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15 Nothing outside a man can make him `unclean' by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him `unclean.' " ( 17 After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. 18 "Are you so dull?" he asked. "Don't you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him `unclean'? 19 For it doesn't go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body." (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods "clean.") 20 He went on: "What comes out of a man is what makes him `unclean.' ) 21 For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and make a man `unclean.' "

James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.  19 My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. 22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it - he will be blessed in what he does. 26 If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Sunday 2 Sept 2018: 14th Sunday after Trinity

An American man suffered a serious heart attack and had to have a heart transplant. He woke up to find that he was in the care of nuns at a catholic hospital. When he had recovered sufficiently a nun began to ask him questions as to how he was going to pay for the treatment he had.
The nun asked…"Do you have health insurance?"
The patient replied in a raspy voice…."No health insurance.."
The nun asked …."Do you have money in the bank?"
The patient replied…"No money in the bank."
Somewhat impatient the nun asked…"Do you have a relative who will be willing to help you settle the account for your treatment?"
The patient replied…"I only have a spinster sister who is a nun."
The nun became agitated and announced loudly.."Nuns are not spinsters! They are married to God."
The patient retorted. "Then send the bill to my brother in law.”

In today’s gospel Jesus tells his followers that everyone needs a heart transplant. v21. “out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and make a man `unclean.' "

The question posed by our gospel and epistle today is “How should God’s people live?”

Does God want His people to be religious? To live life according to rules in their own strength? The Pharisees and teachers of the law followed this route. They had over 300 rules that they tried to follow every day. These were man made and not from God. Indeed, some of them went against God’s law. Jesus gave one example of this in verses 9-13.

The Pharisees thought they could earn their way into God’s kingdom because they were Jews and they obeyed God’s laws. This led them to believe that they were better than others, to rely on themselves rather than God, and to judge people whom they felt were not good enough. This included Jesus and his disciples.

There may be a Pharisee lurking in you and me! We may think the way we act is right and that we are better than some people. We may, secretly think that God loves us a bit more because of this. But, Jesus said that our human hearts are corrupted.

“21 For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and make a man `unclean.' "

In the epistle James warns about moral filth and evil that can express itself in not listening, quick speaking, anger, and not controlling the tongue.

Jesus summarised the law by saying we are to love God with all of ourselves all of the time and to love other people like ourselves. None of us do this. We all sin and fall short of what God wants us to be and do.

So, how can we get a new heart? James tells us. 18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3 that he must be born again or born from above. The prophets Jeremiah (24.7, 31.33) and Ezekiel (11.19, 36.26) both looked forward to a time when God would give His people new hearts.

This comes at God’s instigation. He chose and chooses people to give new life to. People who are dead spiritually, who have hearts that are dead to God, are given life through a new heart that enables them to live for God and with God. To know, love, worship, obey and serve Him.

James writes about the freedom in God’s law v25. The law enslaved and condemned the Pharisees. To the Christian the law is an expression of the perfect will of our loving, heavenly father who has saved us. So, we seek to follow this as those who love him and knows that he loves us and wants the best for us and everyone.

Although this new life, the new heart, is through God’s grace, or undeserved favour, it does not mean that Christians are to be passive.

James writes of God’s word. 21 “Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent, and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.”

I mentioned earlier that Jeremiah, over 500 years before Jesus, looked to a time when people would get a heart transplant. 31. 33 ‘This is the covenant that I will make with the people of Israel after that time,’ declares the Lord. ‘I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will they teach their neighbour, or say to one another, “Know the Lord,” because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,’ declares the Lord. ‘For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.’

James wrote that we should listen to the word, verse 22. He wrote in verse 25 we should look intently at God’s word, continue in God’ word, remember God’s word.

James not only writes about God’s word, he writes about our words. How we should speak. 19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 26 Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.

James also writes about our works. 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. The orphans and widows were those in need in James’ day. We can add many other categories to this today that represent people in need. God may call us to help them personally and practically. He may call us to help some by giving financially, perhaps through a relief organisation.

How can we respond to today’s readings

If you have not dome so yet, give your heart to God. He loves yo and wants the best for you. He has paid the price for you to have a heart transplant. Humbly accept what he has done for you.

If you have already given your heart to God, continue giving your heart to God. Look intently at His word, continue in it, remember it. And do it. Turn away from the sin that is within you and live in the power of the Spirit. Every Christian has sin in their heart and God in their heart. Paul wrote of this battlefield in Romans 7. We are to continue in God’s grace, helped by His word and His Spirit.

30/8/09 Trinity 11/Proper 17 James 1:17-27,  Mark 7:1-8,14-15,21-23. 

What makes someone right with God?  What makes someone a true Christian?

Today's New Testament readings both deal with the answer to these questions.

Samuel Wilberforce (1805–1873) : Christianity can be condensed into four words: admit, submit, commit, and transmit.

James considers two types of people who would claim to be believers.

The first group is those who "merely listen to the word" verse 22.  They listen to the teachings of and about Jesus but it doesn't make a difference to how they live their lives.  If we read between the lines these people profess to follow Jesus but are involved in moral filth and doing evil.  These are general terms but the context suggests that the recipients of this letter had a problem with speaking in anger, verses 19 & 26 and Chapter 3.  They were also failing to help those in need verse 26.

Such conduct does not bring glory to God.  Believers are supposed to glorify God by their lives by being holy, different, set apart for and by Him.  We should endeavour to follow the ways of God so that we give as little ammunition as possible to those looking to criticise.  There will be criticism.  Jesus was criticised, despised, rejected, betrayed, suffered and died. He told his followers to expect no less.

Verse 26 also shows why they were not following the ways of God.  They were being "polluted by the world".  Influenced by the conduct and values of the people around them and not by the teachings of God.

Jesus confronted another group in our gospel reading.  The Pharisees and teacher of the law.  You could say that they trusted in tradition, rules established and taught by humans.  Some of these actually went against God's revealed will in the Bible.  They went through the motions of worship but their hearts were not really in it.  They were there for their own self-justification, they thought if they behaved in the right way they would or should earn God's favour.  They also used their traditions to manipulate people and condemn those who did not do what they wanted them to do.

J. B. Phillips (1906–1982):  "There have been, and still are, religions which are concerned with the worship of a god or gods, but which have no influence on man's behaviour toward man. Christianity is not like this. The fact that the infinite God focused himself in a man is the best proof that God cares about people. In the teaching of that man, Jesus Christ, we find repeated again and again, an insistence on love to God and love to men being inseparably linked. He violently denounced those who divorced religion from life. He had no use at all for those who put up a screen of elaborate ceremonial and long prayers, and exploited their fellowmen behind it."  

Jesus warns people not to trust in religious observance but to have a clean heart and a genuine trust in himself.  James considers this group, the second in his letter.  You might call them true believers. What does this involve?

" 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you."

James is encouraging his readers to turn from living a life of sin.  Putting themselves first.  Following he ways of the world.  Failing to love God and love other people.  

Last week in the Baptism service the parents and godparents of baby Sophia made three declarations that they would turn from everything that was wrong.

Do you reject the devil and all rebellion against God? I reject them.

Do you renounce the deceit and corruption of evil? I renounce them.

Do you repent of the sins that separate us from God and neighbour? I repent of them.

 

They then said that they would turn from wrong and follow Jesus who is the right way.

Do you turn to Christ as Saviour?  I turn to Christ.

Do you submit to Christ as Lord?  I submit to Christ.

Do you come to Christ, the way, the truth and the life?  I come to Christ.

 

James writes ".. humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you."

We need humility to come to God aware of our own shortcomings.  The Holy Spirit helps us to do this.  He shows us what we are like and what we should be like.  He shows us we need someone to put us right with God.

"The word planted in you" is referring to the good news of Jesus.  That He is man and God. Who came to earth to shows and teach us how to live.  That he died and took the punishment for our sins so we can be free.  Free from the power of sin through the work of the Holy Spirit.  Free to know and obey God inspired by gratitude, a knowledge of the ways of God and the desire and power to follow Him through the work of the Holy Spirit.

This does not mean that we will be perfect this side of glory.  But we should be growing in Christ-likeness.

Relationships change us.  They form us into the people we are.  Sometimes for good, sometimes for bad. The Christian life has to flow from a right relationship with God through the risen Lord Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit.  This will change the people we are.  We should become more like him. Not by merely listening to and being aware of the good news.  Not solely by living life according to religious rules or traditions.

This has got to involve keep on living for God. To persevere. 25 But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it - he will be blessed in what he does.

On Friday evening Joshua and myself got on a train at the main Barcelona terminal to go to the airport.  Instead, due to a misunderstanding with languages, we ended up 45 minutes later 55 miles South in a place called Sant Vincenc de Calders.  Thankfully the English of the woman in the Ticket Office was better than those on the train! I suspect we were not the first to do this!  We took a taxi to the airport and arrived before checking in started.

Can I encourage you to board the right train?

Don't board a train of listening without it affecting your life.

Don't board a train of just living by tradition, rules, or religion.

Board the train with Jesus.  He will come alongside you for the journey.  Trust wholeheartedly and radically in him if you want to get to the right destination.  The journey may be scary and difficult at times.  But he will always be with us by his Spirit, living within us.  Helping us to become more like Him.

 

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I have based this sermon on verses 1-23, not the R.C.L. reading as listed below

31/8/03 Trinity 11/Proper 17 Mark 7:1-8,14-15,21-23.

MK 7:1 The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and 2 saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were "unclean," that is, unwashed. 3 (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles. ) 5 So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, "Why don't your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with `unclean' hands?" 6 He replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: " `These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 7 They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.' 8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men."

( 9 And he said to them: "You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! 10 For Moses said, `Honour your father and your mother,' and, `Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.' 11 But you say that if a man says to his father or mother: `Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is Corban' (that is, a gift devoted to God), 12 then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother. 13 Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that." )

14 Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15 Nothing outside a man can make him `unclean' by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him `unclean.' "

( 17 After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. 18 "Are you so dull?" he asked. "Don't you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him `unclean'? 19 For it doesn't go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body." (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods "clean.") 20 He went on: "What comes out of a man is what makes him `unclean.' )

21 For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and make a man `unclean.' "

I recently took a pair of new, grey sports socks off. They left grey fluff between my toes and Chloe, my two year old daughter who takes great delight in examining and talking to my toes, declared that my feet were 'dirty'. I explained that they were not but she remained unconvinced.

Today's gospel involves a disagreement between Jesus and the Pharisees over what is 'unclean'. They concentrate on rules and external things. Jesus looks at the heart. What we are truly like.

One of the phrases that every parent must have said to every child before eating a meal is, "Now, go and wash your hands". Children who know their Bible should not take from this passage that Jesus doesn't want them to wash their hands before they eat! This is about ceremonial or ritual washing.

The Pharisees had sent a fact finding delegation to Galilee to see what Jesus and his followers were doing. Galilee was in the North and considered to be uncultured, so perhaps the visitors from the 'refined' and 'religious' South almost expected Jesus and his followers to be breaking their oral traditions.

The "tradition of the elders" (v. 3 ) was a huge collection of spoken tradition that had built up around the Old Testament law, the first five books of our Bible. About A.D. 200 the oral tradition was written down in the Mishnah, but in Jesus day it was still in spoken form. Its purpose was to regulate a man's life completely. If the law was silent or vague about a particular subject, one could be sure that the tradition would be explicit. The tradition, created and established by the great rabbis, was passed on from one generation to the next and was considered binding. Perhaps a bit like where people sit in church today!

Ceremonial washing was one of these oral laws that had emerged. After being in the marketplace and coming into contact with Gentiles or even backsliden Jews, the Pharisees would wash themselves to ensure their ritual cleanness.

So the issue is not 'Should you wash your hands before you eat?' It was 'What makes us pure before God?' Do people become contaminated by mixing with 'irreligious' people? Do people become pure by obeying man made regulations?

The word hypocrite literally means 'play actor'. Jesus pointed out the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and teachers of the law. They claimed to hold the Scriptures in high regard so Jesus answered using a quotation from Isaiah 29:13. 'These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 7 They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'

They were play acting. They pretended to care about God but they were more concerned with their own importance, about how they were regarded by people and how they could control and condemn people with their man made rules.

Jesus illustrates their hypocrisy by giving an example of how they used the oral traditions to escape the obligations of one of the commandments given by God, verses 9-13.

A son needed only declare that what he had intended to give his father and mother be considered "Corban," i.e., a gift devoted to God. So it could no longer be given to his parents. By devoting the gift to God, a son did not have to promise it to the temple nor did he prevent its use for himself. What he did do was to exclude legally his parents from benefiting from it (v. 12). So the very purpose for which the commandment was given by God was set aside by the oral tradition. This is what Jesus meant by "nullifying" the word of God (v. 13).

"And you do many things like that.", verse 13, shows that this was not an isolated example and displayed the religious leaders' attitude to God's perfect will as revealed in the Scriptures.

The idea that these religious leaders were not holy but hypocrites would have been foreign to the crowd and the disciples who probably used to look up to them and almost aspire to be like them. So Jesus explains what he means to the crowd verse 14f., then the disciples, verses 17-23.

In 1999 there were 81,348 reported cases of food poisoning in England and Wales. Two of the major sources of food contamination are nasal and faecal transference, so people should always wash their hands before touching food after they have been to the toilet or blown their nose.

We might paraphrase Jesus by saying that people who do have food poisoning generally find that it passes through their system, but their is a greater impurity lurking within everyone. Sin.

This manifests itself in thought, word and deed. Jesus lists some of these in verses 21f.

sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.

evil thoughts are the motivation for evil actions. When we think of the word 'evil' it conjures up emotive newspaper headlines but anything that goes against God perfect, revealed will is 'evil'.

Jesus refers to two sexual sins, translated "sexual immorality" and "adultery".

"Sexual immorality" is the translation of porneia, a general term for any kind of illicit sexual intercourse. In later rabbinic thought it included prostitution, forbidden marriages (such as between relatives), incest, and all kinds of unnatural intercourse. Porneia would include adultery but also a wider group of sexual sins. The specific word for adultery was also included by Jesus as a sin.

Elsewhere, when questioned about divorce e.g. Mark 10, Jesus looked to creation to show God's will for legitimate sexual expression. 6 "But at the beginning of creation God `made them male and female.' <sup>7</sup> `For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, ⁸ and the two will become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one. ⁹ Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."

Anything other than sexual intercourse within ( heterosexual ) marriage is outside God's will and therefore, a sin. The words of Jesus and other Scriptures, supported by thousands of years of Jewish and Christian tradition support this stance.

Theft and murder may have obvious meanings, although we should be aware of Jesus teaching in the sermon on the mount about cursing one's brother, Matthew 5:21ff. 21 "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, `Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' <sup>22</sup> But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, `Raca, ' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, `You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.

We may also include under 'stealing' 'borrowing' items that are never returned, or taking time, goods, or the use of the telephone, photocopier and computer from one's employer.

Malice and deceit reflect the deliberate and willful way in which some may act, for example in not telling all the truth and deliberately tricking them.

Greed (" Pleonexiai," v. 22) may have sexual overtones since it is frequently associated (as here) with words indicating sexual sins (e.g., Eph 4:19, 5:3; Col 3:5; 2 Peter 2:3).

Lewdness ( Aselgeia ) suggests open and shameless immorality.

envy(" Ophthalmos poneros ") is literally "evil eye," a Jewish term for "stinginess" (cf. Deut 15:9; Ecclesiasticus 14:10; 31:13) or perhaps better, "envious jealousy."

Slander("Blasphemia") includes speaking evil of either God or man

Folly ( "Aphrosyne" ) describes "the stupidity of the man who lacks moral judgment" (Taylor, p. 346). In the Bible 'the fool' is someone who rejects the ways of God. e.g. Psalm 14:1 The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.

The Pharisees had added to God's teaching in the Scriptures to build themselves up and justify themselves. Some of their teachings actually contradicted God's will. Jesus illustrated how radical God's ways are when he expounded the law in Matthew 5 e.g. 27 "You have heard that it was said, `Do not commit adultery.' ²⁸ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

There are some parts of the church today who seek to justify their sin and disobedience to God's revealed ways by misinterpreting the Scriptures or adding to them. In the run up to the election of Gene Robinsonas Bishop of New Hampshire one of his supporter said on 'Newsnight' that he was being used by God and was led by the Spirit. I consider that remark to be blasphemous.

Gene Robinson left his wife and family for a homosexual lover and was divorced for this adultery. Malachi 2:16 has the Lord saying 'I hate divorce'. We examined earlier the Scriptures and tradition to discover what is acceptable sexual conduct in God's sight. Homosexuality, adultery, sex before or outside marriage, incest, paedophilia, bestiality, necrophilia and any other sexual activity else that is outside ( heterosexual ) marriage is wrong in God's eyes.

Just because it is socially acceptable doesn't mean that God and his people have to accept it. After all, forty years ago homosexual intercourse was socially unacceptable. Who know what else that we consider abhorrent today will be considered admissible in another forty years?

That is not to say that the church should turn its back on those who are Christians and struggle to maintain a celibate existence, whether they be heterosexual or homosexual. There must be no dual standards. We should not be prejudiced in any way. So, just as we should not accept two homosexuals fornicating, so we should not accept two heterosexuals fornicating.

That impartiality should work both ways. I think this can be illustrated by asking the question, 'If Gene Robinson's adultery had been with a woman and he had set up home with her, would he have been backed so fervently by so many people advocating rights for other adulterers?'

A television news item this week referred to how common 'road rage' is and how a certain type of person is more liable to display this. Imagine that someone was in court for assaulting another motorist and his defence lawyer's case was that his client's emotions made him commit the offence. He would be prosecuted and his counsel laughed out of court.

The theology of some of the people who have been supporting 'gay rights' can be described in this way. "God made us, he made some people with homosexual tendencies, therefore it is right for them to practice their sexuality." This theology would then allow anyone to follow their emotions in a way that goes against the teachings of Jesus that we referred to earlier in Matthew 5 and elsewhere. This desertion of restraint is also contrary to the work of the Holy Spirit who produces the fruit of self-control ( Galatians 5:23 ).

This 'do what you like' theology doesn't take into account our fallen nature. That is to say that sin is active in people's hearts and that everyone sins and falls short of the glory of God. In Romans 7 Paul describes the struggle that goes on within every believer between our sinful, fallen nature and God's Holy Spirit who wants to make us more like Jesus. He continues in Chapter 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

Religious ritual rules and regulations cannot make us clean, indeed they can enslave, deceive and lead to pride.

Following the way of the world or our fallen desires cannot justify us.

Jesus taught that the source of uncleanness is the human heart. We, therefore, need to purify our hearts by coming to Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit. This will free us to live joyfully for God and follow His ways

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, "The Cost of Discipleship".

"Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance,

baptism without church discipline,

Communion without confession,

absolution without personal confession.

Cheap grace is grace without discipleship,

grace without the cross,

grace without Jesus Christ living and incarnate.
Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will gladly go and sell all that he has.

It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all of his goods.

It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble,

it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.

Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock.

Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ.

It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life.

It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner.

Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: "You were bought at a price," and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us.

Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.

PRAY