Rev. Stephen E. Stults
St.
Paul’s Anglican Church
June
23, 2024
“…(that) we may so pass through things temporal, that we finally
lose not the things eternal.”
Beloved in
Christ, this is a mighty prayer. It asks that we conduct ourselves in such a
way that we do not receive condemnation and thus forfeit eternal life. It poses the question that we all ponder at
some time or another: how important is our behavior to our eternal orientation?
After this earthly life, we will receive judgment, this we know. Will our deeds follow us into eternity? If so, are they the arbiter of our fate?
Surely at
this point, some will exclaim, “Preacher, wait!
Are we not saved by grace, in fact by grace alone? Did not Christ die that we may live? Does not His Blood cover a multitude of
sins?” How then can we pass through temporal things in such a way that we lose
eternal things?
This
argument takes us back to one of the oldest “tensions’ in the Christian religion:
faith vs. works. Like the Medieval Church, and still for some Christians today,
our works are paramount to our salvation. In the Middle Ages, for example, one
never quite knew if one was saved. Had you done enough good works? Had you built up enough credit in your
”Treasury of Merit”? One never knew.
Then,
something happened that shook the religious community to its core. It was the
Protestant Reformation. Early reformers
like Martin Luther proclaimed boldly that one was saved by grace, not by works,
echoing the words of St. Paul the Apostle. [i]
Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, who was sent to the stake just ten years after Luther’s
death in 1546, also shared this view and made it one of the tenets of
Anglicanism.[ii]
Thus the Protestant Reformation established a central principle: the assurance
of salvation. We Anglicans hold to this principle.
Once again,
one may exclaim, “Preacher, wait! How
about the Book of James? Does he not say
that
“faith without works
is dead also”?[iii]. Without a doubt he does, and
this brings us to the idea of “cheap Grace”.
What in the world is that?
Simply this: yes, we are saved through grace, and by grace
alone. Jesus’ sacrifice of Himself once
offered on the Cross accomplished that. Yet, this happens only after we confess
and repent of our sins. We are to
forsake our sins and seek a new life. Some action and intention on our part is
necessary. Repentance of sin means an
active assent of the will to turn from those things that can damage our soul. Confession
without repentance smacks of “cheap grace”, or the idea that one may merely say
the right words and be forgiven, without an intention to forsake and mortify
the sinful acts themselves. God knows
our hearts and He certainly knows when we try to “play” Him. As the song of the 1970’s said, “Who’s
zoomin’ who?”
There can be little doubt that, even after
confession and repentance, we will commit that same sin again. This is probably true, except, for God forbid,
truly heinous sins that rise to the level of crimes. Yes, beloved, we tend to
fall into the same sinful ruts again and again.
Yet, this is the power of the Confessional, as it cleanses and relieves us
of the burden of our sins. Will we commit the same sins again? Probably; but in the meantime there is a
greater awareness of spiritual progress and the power of God’s all-loving
forgiveness. It is a powerful experience
that yields powerful results of freedom and joy.
How then, if saved by grace, do our actions
affect our ability to lose the “things eternal’? Just this; our lives, once they have been
touched by grace, should reflect
our new state. We should bring forth “fruits worthy of
repentance”. [iv]
Pray that we exhibit the fruits of the
Spirit: “ love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith, meekness, temperance”[v]
If these fruits
are not apparent to you (or to others), consider a re-examination of your
Christian Walk. Is joy lacking from your
life? Is peace, long-suffering or gentleness
absent from your experience?
There is but
one answer: pray for it. Pray for the
grace that these gifts may appear. It takes confession, repentance and worship
for these gifts to happen, but they will.
Through God’s infinite mercy and grace, coupled with your earnest desire
to seek Him, they will become realities in your life.
Yet, imagine
those who never seek these gifts, or a relationship with the Almighty. Imagine
those who prove by their actions that they want nothing to do with God. They may be actively involved with evil; in
this case it is likely there will be no active repentance. Or, those who are so caught up in their
earthly lives that they leave no room for God. They are busy, they are self-absorbed. Thus, they
do not worship, they do not repent, and they do not recognize the power of sin
over them. Remember, rebellion or complete disregard for God is a sin. It is
called the sin of unbelief. He has offered us unconditional love. To ignore
this is unjust and unkind.
Beloved,
this is how our actions determine our eternal fate. Ignore God and He will ultimately ignore you.
Choose not to answer His gracious call and He will honor that decision. Reject a relationship with Him, and sadly, He
will reject you.
Let us not
dwell on such things. Instead, let us rejoice! Give thanks for your
salvation. Give thanks for God’s Grace
in your life. Let your joy overflow. Invite others to share in it too. Remember,
when you give it away, it will simply increase more and more.
Then, we will “…pass through things temporal,
that we finally lose not the things eternal.”
In the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
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