Sermon - 6th Pentecost, year a, 2026

Last week we learnt about Sts Peter and Paul, and noted the effect that they had in forming the church’s theology.  Today Paul’s letter to the Romans gives us an in-depth look at one of the most fundamental theologies that Paul has contributed to the church.  The theology around sin, grace and the inner struggle between good and evil.

Romans 5 12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread toll because all have sinned—18 Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. 19 For just as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so through the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

Romans 614 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. 5 What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!

25b So then, with my mind I am enslaved to the law of God, but with my flesh I am enslaved to the law of sin.

For Paul a person is composed of two parts, the flesh and the spirit.  The perishable, physical body and the everlasting soul.  And Paul understood these two aspects of a person as being at war with each other.  It is a struggle that Paul clearly understood on a deeply personal level.  Which he clearly indicated today

“I do not understand my own actions.  For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.  For I delight in the law of the God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind.” 

 

The discussion of why we sin is very intimidating theology, and people have explored it in depth since the beginning of creation.  However, it is important to explore this complex theology because sin a very human issue. 

 

Perhaps the simplest way to explain the temptation to sin is in one simple phrase:  Don’t touch the wet paint!  Don’t touch it!  We have been told the rule, we understand the rule.  Yet many will just …you know test…to see if it’s still wet.  And the more a person tells us don’t touch…the more that that little part of you that now wants to place a whole hand print in the paint… just because they told you not to. 

That inner battle between obedience and rebellion.  Law and sin.  Flesh and spirit.

“For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.  Wretched person that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?”

A bit dramatic, but you get the point.

Paul was a pharisee, he knew the law…the laws of God to the Jewish people which the first 5 books of the bible lay out in depth…and he knew the many interpretations and regulations that came from them. All of which were intended to help people live out the covenant between God and God’s people.  To live a righteous God loving life.  However, Paul was also aware that the more in depth people interpreted the law…the more loop holes they created.

In fact in the gospel of Mark we get an example of this.  The commandments clearly said to respect your mother and father.  However, by Jesus time that simple law had been split into a plethora of details, allowing sin to take hold in what was a simple law.   Jesus accused the spiritual leaders of refusing to provide for their parents in their old age by dedicating the money to God.  Thus avoiding their responsibility and keeping the law while breaking the law.   Loopholes, we love a loophole.  The opportunity to ‘get away with it’, because there is that deep seated desire to get what we want regardless. 

 

Paul knew how hard it was to keep the law, and he was just as aware of how to get around the laws and he knew how sinful that was.  Not just wrong, but sinful.  Because trying to get around God’s laws…means circumventing the path towards God.  Intentionally walking away from where God is guiding.  Because the laws themselves are meant as a guide to lead us along the right paths as we live our lives, they are in essence neutral …but how we live them out is where the moral ground lies.  How we live our lives…that’s were sin and righteousness enter in.  Are we building up relationships or damaging them?  Are we following the path of Spirit or of flesh? The path to God- centered living or the path to self- interested living.

We know what kind of person God has called us to be.  We know who Christ has called us to become.  And we know how hard it is to live that life each and every day, this is the struggle Paul speaks of.  And he takes that struggle all the way back to Adam and Eve.  They had one simple rule.  Don’t eat the fruit of that one particular tree.  You can have anything else, except that…so, of course the forbidden fruit became the most desirable fruit. Adam and Eve prioritized their own desire above that of their relationship with God; then came guilt and shame and lies. 

12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man( ADAM), and death came through sin, and so death spread toll because all have sinned—18 Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness (JESUS)  leads to justification and life for all. 19 For just as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so through the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

That is grace…that we will be made righteous, in spite of ourselves.  That is why Jesus came, that is why he died and why he resurrected.  To save us from ourselves.  God sent the law to lead us to himself, but we twisted it to our own use.  Humanity simply could not, as a whole, persevere against the sin that insists on us having our own ways.  So, God had to step in again and through Christ’s obedience and his self sacrifice, his overcoming of sin Christ broke that sinful cycle and in resurrection Christ shattered the inevitable consequence of sin…death. 

We have been forgiven by Grace through Jesus Christ and he has borne the consequence of our actions.  So, Paul asks in Romans, if sin has no consequences anymore, why can’t we just do what we want?  After all Christ has already forgiven us.  True, but!  That doesn’t mean we can just carry on sinning and living for our own self interest.  The law still exists to guide us to towards righteousness…and we should obey it not to avoid punishment, but in gratitude and responsibility to our saviour.

Not the Jewish law of Paul’s early training, the law of Torah.  We, as Christians, are called to follow Christ’s law and he has simplified and summarized all the law for us.  Love your neighbour, as yourself.  What that looks like and who that includes…well that is detailed throughout Christ’s life and ministry…and is a whole nother sermon by itself!

Yet even with all of Christ’s work to help smooth the path to God, to make it easier to follow the law and avoid sin, we are still at war within our selves. We still, far too often want to touch the wet paint…cheat on our taxes…take one more shot…speak out of frustration or shirk our responsibilities because we are still enslaved by our flesh…our fallibility.  Wretched persons that we are… we are not worthy to eat the crumbs under Gods table.

 Yet, there is God’s Grace…God’s nature is always to have mercy.  And though we may not honour our brothers and sisters as we ought, our Father has always loved us.  That is the greatest of blessings and why we should endeavor to follow the law with all the strength in us, because God has given so much to us…life itself.  How could we not respond by turning all our efforts to draw near to him.  Obedience to the law.  Loving neighbour as self bring us closer to God…sin and it’s self centered nature turns us away from God to focus on our immediate desire and self interest.  Rarely resulting in self love and far too often resulting in shame, guilt and lies…damaging our relationship to ourself and to others.

For just as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so through the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

 

It is only through Christ’s sacrifice, his birth, death and ultimately resurrection…his obedience to God and his intentional walking God’s path…even through death…that we are enabled to experience the same.  By Christ life, we are show the path of life.  By Christ’s accepting death, the consequence of sin, even though he had never turned from God, we are given a pass from the horror of death.  By Christ’s resurrection, we are resurrected and need never fear that our mortality is the end.  It is through Christ that our sin-prone, oft straying natures are perfected and through Christ our feet are set on the path to God over and over again.  We fall over and over, and Christ guides us back over and over.

Just as Paul taught, we have a fight within us…the desire to draw near to God and the desire to turn towards our self.  It is an ongoing battle, but no one we fight alone.  As Paul says in our reading today:

Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.!