In his book, the Grip of Grace, Max Lucado tells the story of a Father who had five sons. The Eldest (Firstborn) brother loved His Father, and was always at the Father’s side, being careful to always obey everything the Father commanded. But the youngest brothers were rebellious. So when the Father commanded them to stay away from the river because of its strong currents, the brothers saw it as an opportunity for adventure. So each day they edged closer and closer to the river’s edge until one day they dared each other to step into the river and experience its powerful currents.
No sooner had the one of one touched the water, the current yanked him and all his brothers into its mighty grasp. Over the rocks, through the channels, on the swells they rode. Their cries were lost amidst the deafening roar of the river. For hours upon hours they struggled until they found themselves far downstream, in a distant, barren place. They never imagined how far from home the river could carry them.
For the longest time they lay on a beach stunned, not knowing where to turn. After some time, they gathered up their courage and reentered the water, hoping to walk upstream. But the current was too strong. They attempted to walk along the river’s edge, but the terrain was too steep. They considered walking home another way, but they were surrounded by mountains, whose peaks were too high to climb. Plus, they were surrounded by savage, violent people they couldn’t trust.
Each night the brothers would gather together and build a fire. They were determined to survive, and never forget their Father, to never forget the Eldest brother’s love, to never forget their distant home, and to never lose hope of rescue.
One night, one of the brother’s failed to come to the fire. The next morning the others found him in valley among the savages. He was building a hut of grass and mud. “I’ve grown tired of our talks,” he told them. “What good does it to do remember? Besides, this land isn’t so bad. I will build a great house and settle here. The Father isn’t here, he isn’t near, am I to spend forever awaiting his arrival? I’m making new friends; I’m learning new ways. If he comes, he comes, but I’m not holding my breath.”
And so the three left their brother alone, and continued to meet around the campfire. Some days later, a second brother failed to appear at the campfire. They searched and finally found him standing on a hillside, overlooking the hut of his brother. “How disgusting” he told them as they approached, “Our brother is an utter failure. An insult to our family… how despicable… building a hut and forgetting Father.”
When one of the brothers reminded him that they had all disobeyed by touching the river and ignoring Father’s warnings, he snapped, “Well, we may have made a mistake or two, but compared to the sleaze in the hut, we are saints. The Father will dismiss our sin and punish him.” When he was encouraged to return to the Father he replied, “No, I think I’ll stay on this hill… someone needs to keep record of his wrongs to show Father.”
The two remaining sons returned to the fire, encouraging each other, speaking of home. But by the next morning only one son remained by the fire. He searched for his brother, and found him stacking rocks at the river’s edge. “It’s no use, the rock-stacking brother explained as he worked. “Father won’t come for me. I must have got to him. I offended him. I insulted him. I failed him. There is only one option. I will build a path back up the river and walk into our father’s presence. Rock upon rock I will stack until I have enough rocks to travel upstream to the castle. When he sees how hard I have worked and how diligent I have been, he will have no choice but to open the door and let me into his house.”
The last brother was beside himself, and didn’t know what to say. He returned to sit by the fire, alone, until one morning he heard a familiar voice behind him. “Father has sent me to bring you home.” The youngest lifted his eyes to see the face of his oldest brother!“ You have come for us!” he shouted. For a long time, the two embraced until the eldest asked, “Where are our brothers?”
The youngest brother explained how one built a hut and made the valley his home, and its people his new friends… how one was busy watching him… and how the other was building a path up the river. One had chosen to indulge himself, one had chosen to compare himself, and the third had chosen to save himself. One had become a hut-building hedonist, one had become a fault-finding judgmentalist, and one had become a rock-stacking legalist. None of them, except the one remaining brother, was willing to entrust themselves to the Elder brother, the “Firstborn” of the Father.
The first said no, choosing a grass/mud hut over his father's house. The second said no, preferring to analyze the mistakes of his brother rather than admit his own. The third said no, thinking it wiser to make a good impression than an honest confession. And the fourth said yes, choosing gratitude over guilt.
****Heavily adapted from http://www.angelfire.com/sc3/we_dig_montana/Gracech1.html
For what it’s worth, I think “In the Grip of Grace” is one of Max Lucado’s best books. It will go a long way to help you understand the message or Romans. Over the past several weeks we’ve talked about what it means to be caught in the grip of God’s grace. . . to no longer let sin reign over us, but to instead, let grace reign over us.
In faith, God asks us to acknowledge the utter futility of living part from the Father, in a land filled with sin and death. God asks us to repent of sin, and turn our affections toward His Kingdom and His righteousness. God asks us to entrust our very life into his hands, to offer ourselves to Jesus in baptism. Two weeks ago we saw how in baptism (Romans 6), we become “One” with Jesus in his death, burial, and resurrection. The last week we saw how in baptism (Romans 7), we no longer “belong” to sin & death & Mr. Law, but are set free, and now through faith “belong” to Jesus (married to grace)!
It’s amazing and refreshing to be married to grace! What does this refreshing new life, married to Christ, wed to Christ Jesus, entail? Romans 8 is one of the best known, most quoted chapters in the New Testament. It begins to unpack the implications of possessing new life in Christ! So let’s get to it...
Implication #1: We Are No Longer Living Under Condemnation... We Have a New Found Confidence (Romans 8:1-4)
Romans 8:1-4 says, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
It’s true that we all put our confidence in different things. The Hut-Building Hedonist puts all his confidence in this life, in finding pleasure, in pursuing whatever happiness he can scrounge together in this distant land. The Fault-Finding Judgmentalist imagines that since he not as a depraved as others, God will prefer him over others, and save him because he is a “good person.” The Rock-Stacking Legalist imagines God will see all his hard work, and be so impressed, God will save him.
The true believer trusts not in himself, but in the Father. Instead of looking to self, or judging others, the true believer trusts in the Firstborn over all creation. We know the Father doesn’t condemn us why? Because the Father sent his Son down the river… in the likeness of sinful rebellious man… to seek and to save what was lost. We know the Father doesn’t condemn us why? Because God offered his One and Only, on that cross, to pay the penalty for our sin, and to credit to our account the righteousness needed to be accepted in God’s holy presence. We know we’re not condemned why? Because God sent his Holy Spirit to take up residence in our bodies and to do “in us” and “for us” what the law weakened by our flesh, could never do!
In the Grip of Grace, the one remaining brother allows the Firstborn to carry him all the way back up the river to the Father. When the brother questions whether the Father would truly forgive him, the Elder brother assures him, “If Father wasn’t willing to forgive you, he wouldn’t have bothered sending me…”
Implication #2: We Are No Longer Living Under Defeat... We Have a New Found Aspiration (Romans 8:5-8)
Romans 8:5-8 says, “5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.”
Everyone is searching for “life and peace,” except we don’t call it “life and peace.” We usually call it “happiness.” We spend every waking moment thinking about happiness. Finding happiness is our sole ambition—and we’re willing to sacrifice just about anything to find it. People will destroy their marriage. People will destroy their family, their children. People will destroy their bodies, their health, their reputation, their character—all for happiness. Romans 1-2-3 chronicles all the ways people seek happiness. But in the end sin only defeats us, and destroys life and peace!
The problem is that happiness is not a circumstance, it’s a relationship. It’s found in a stable, life-giving marriage to Jesus. It’s not found in the mud huts we make for ourselves. It’s not found looking over the fence, in the neighbor’s yard, judging and coveting. Happiness is not building your own path to God. It’s not certainly not found letting our flesh and our minds get carried down the river.
Happiness is living according to what the Spirit desires. Happiness is setting your mind on what the Holy Spirit desires. It’s letting God’s grace reign, and govern your life, and guide your choices, and cause you to yield to God. Life and Peace are not found in hostility to God… not in sin and death… they’re found in submission to God’s Spirit!
Implication #3: We Are No Longer Living Under Despair... We Have A New Found Future (Romans 8:9-13)
Romans 8:9-13 says, “9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. 12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.”
If you ask people, they will tell you there are only two guarantees in this life: Death and Taxes. That’s probably half-true. No, the two guarantees in this life are ever-increasing sin, and ever-impending death. In regard to sin, the headlines go from bad to worse. People are being swept further and further down the river than ever before. In regard to death, despite all our wealth and technology and science and medicine and education… death remains the destiny of every man.
Our world is filled with despair! Nothing destroys sin nor overcomes death! Well… actually there is one thing. If the Spirit of God lives within you… if through faith, repentance, and baptism you have offered yourselves to Jesus and now belong to Him… God has filled you with his Holy Spirit. And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, then he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of the Spirit who lives in you. And not only this, but if you live according to God’s Holy Spirit, you can put to death the misdeeds of the body and live! The Holy Spirit enables grace and righteousness to reign where sin once reigned. And the Holy Spirit enables life to reign where death once reigned. The Spirit gives life, and the Spirit also gives us righteousness! In other words, we have a new found future! Increasing sin and impending death is a thing of the past, not of the future!
Implication #4: We Are No Longer Living Under Fear... We Have a New Found Identity (Romans 8:14-17)
Romans 8:14-17 says, “14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”
Because of the Father’s love… because of what Jesus did on that cross… because God sent his Holy Spirit to dwell in us… we no longer have to approach God as aliens and strangers, slaves and savages caught in sin. No, in faith we trust God’s love. In repentance we turn from sin. In baptism, we offer ourselves to God and God gives us to himself by his Spirit. The Father adopts us, making us sons and daughters, children of the Living God! As his children he invites us to cry out to him as “Abba, Father.” By his Spirit he reassures us that not only are we children, but we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. He assures us that no matter what we suffer, our hope is secure!
Life and Peace: New found confidence in Jesus… Newfound ambition to please God… Newfound hope in the resurrection… Newfound identity a child of God!