{"id":2096,"date":"2017-03-19T14:52:45","date_gmt":"2017-03-19T03:52:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/?p=2096"},"modified":"2023-03-06T20:16:38","modified_gmt":"2023-03-06T09:16:38","slug":"it-depends-on-faith-19-01-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/?p=2096","title":{"rendered":"It depends on Faith"},"content":{"rendered":"
\u2018It depends on faith\u2019.<\/span>
\nGenesis 15: 1 \u2013 6; Romans 4: 1 \u2013 12; John 5: 5 \u2013 16, 39 – 42<\/span><\/div>\n
XXX<\/span><\/div>\n
\u2018It depends on faith.\u2019 Paul writes to the Roman Church and says, \u2018it depends on faith\u2019 [Rom 4:16] Paul is making a breath-taking statement. Paul has been saying that our relationship with God does not depend on our effort, our moral goodness or our holiness, but our relationship with God depends solely on our faith in what God has done in Christ Jesus. The reason is that the image of God in us is so tarnished we can\u2019t clean it up ourselves. God alone can make us good enough to be included in God\u2019s family.\u00a0 All we can do is trust God.<\/span><\/div>\n
Deep down we know we aren\u2019t good enough. Unfortunately we also don\u2019t trust God enough. I recall visiting a member in hospital. She was one of those in the inner circle of the Church. She was involved in adult education. There she was in hospital, very sick. I asked if she was at peace with God. She replied, \u201cI\u2019m not sure I am good enough to go to God.\u201d I was a little surprised. Her tone of voice echoed her uncertainty and there was a hint of fear. My standard reply to someone who says this to me is that they aren\u2019t good enough and never will be, but God accepts us and makes us right with God through Christ Jesus. That is the Gospel. That is Good News!\u00a0 It is one of the hardest things for people to understand that God accepts us as we are and makes us good enough to enter God\u2019s presence and group, because of the work of Jesus Christ.<\/span><\/div>\n
Paul has argued very thoroughly that the way to God is not through us achieving any level of goodness, or because one is circumcised, or because of belonging to a religious group or ethnic group, or because we have been baptised, but because God gives us the gift of God\u2019s acceptance of us. Paul writes; For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. [Rom 3: 23-25]<\/span><\/div>\n
The point is that our sin \u2013 assertion of self against the other \u2013 has broken down our connectivity to the rest of life.\u00a0 Our assertiveness destroys our relationships. Our sin is a destructive force undermining our inter-community relationships, personal relationships and even our sense of self-worth.\u00a0 At best our connectivity to others is weak and shallow.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Paul reinforces the gift of God\u2019s love to us by saying that if we could earn God\u2019s acceptance it would\u00a0 merely be something we deserve.\u00a0 It wouldn\u2019t be a gift. Like wages received for work done our thank you, if at all, is perfunctory. It is not necessary to thank someone for your wages. One\u2019s wages are our due. If we could prove that we are worthy we would not need God to help us.\u00a0 God\u2019s gift of love comes to us as pure gift \u2013 love given to the unworthy. That is grace. God loves us all \u2013 from the worst to the best of us.\u00a0 This gift gives us benefits. God\u2019s gift builds up our self-esteem.\u00a0 For all our failings God\u2019s acceptance of us tells us that we are worthy because we are God\u2019s.\u00a0 Even if we are not so worthy in the eyes of the world, we are God\u2019s creation made in God image and God does not make trash.\u00a0 Humans make trash God doesn\u2019t. God\u2019s gift teaches us to be grateful.\u00a0 Gratitude is a life giving emotion. A thankful heart is an energise heart.\u00a0 The heartbeat of the thankful person is stronger than the heartbeat of the cynic or the sad person. The gift of God\u2019s love energises us to reciprocate in some way or other. We cannot be loved without being moved to love.\u00a0 God\u2019s gift of acceptance through Christ calls forth trust in us.\u00a0 Without faith where would we be? Faith in this instance is not belief in a set of rules or principles or precepts, it is having faith in someone. Faith here is trust. Trust belongs to a relationship. One cannot enter into a relationship without a measure of trust. Good relationships are built on trust that is ever deepening.<\/span><\/div>\n
This is the Gospel. This is why we need the Gospel.\u00a0 We are a disconnected people. Our common history and our personal history point to this disconnection within the fabric of our personal and communal lives. God meets us at this point of need for connection with others, this world and God. The connection begins with God who declares God\u2019s acceptance of our unworthiness.\u00a0 Then God sets us on a path of renewal through Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit. God accepts us as we are and begins the process of restoring the tarnished image of God\u2019s self in us. That is a long road to walk and for some of us it is a very hard road. It is an earthly-life walk. Only as the image of God begins to be restored do we become beacons of life and love.<\/span><\/div>\n
God has given us the gift of life and love and God has given us marvellous examples. There was the 17th Century preacher\u2019s boy who grumbled about the dirgy psalms they had to sing. The boy was a bit like his father. His father had an independent and thoughtful mind. He had been imprisoned on two occasions for his nonconformist beliefs. When his son complained about the dirgy music of the church his father snapped and told him to be quiet or do something about it. The boy did.<\/span><\/div>\n
He grew up with a fine mind, a gift for poetry and love for God. He was passionate about life and God. He, like most men, wanted to marry. He proposed to one young woman. Now he wasn\u2019t a handsome man. \u201cHe had a small body, an oversized head and beady eyes. The young woman declined the offer of marriage saying; \u2018\u201dI like the jewel but I don\u2019t like the setting.\u201d\u00a0 That man was a jewel. Such rejection in such a manner could destroy a gentle spirit. This young man set about writing his poetry and went on to write more than 600 hymns. Isaac Watts (1674-1748) became known as the father of English Hymnody.\u00a0 More than the quantity of his hymns was the quality. He began to include the personal pronoun \u2018I\u2019 to describe the intimate relationship enjoyed with the Lord God he loved. In so doing Isaac Watts changed the way we worshipped forever.<\/span><\/div>\n
Many people consider \u2018When I survey the wondrous Cross\u2019 to be the finest of his hymns.\u00a0 Watts stirs our souls with what feels like such a personal view of Christ\u2019s crucifixion that we imagine he was actually standing at the foot of the cross.\u00a0 He lays bare his horror and sadness along with his heartfelt amazement that Christ should go through such suffering for him \u2013 for us.\u00a0 Line by line, he paints a picture of the dreadful reality of Christ\u2019s ordeal followed by his questioning of the enormous challenge it presents to him. If Christ can give so much for him and for his salvation, then how much more should he be giving in return?\u00a0 He can think of no gift that is great enough. There is nothing to compare. Finally, he proclaims that in small repayment for Christ\u2019s sacrifice, his love so amazing so divine, he, Watts, simply has to offer up everything of worth he has. God\u2019s gift of his Son for our sake demands my soul, my life, my all!\u201d\u00a0 [Pam Rhodes, Love so Amazing, 2014. P. 137f]<\/span><\/div>\n
Isaac Watts knew he had to respond to Christi\u2019s unconditional love by dedicating his whole life and soul to God\u2019s service.\u00a0 This is the faith required of us \u2013 to trust God completely so God can enter our lives to restore God\u2019s image in us.<\/span><\/div>\n
I invite you to sing, thoughtfully and prayerfully, the song Isaac Watts wrote.<\/span>
\nWhen I survey the wondrous cross,<\/span>
\nOn which the Prince of Glory died,<\/span>
\nMy richest gain I count but loss,<\/span>
\nAnd pour contempt on all my pride.<\/span><\/div>\n
Were the whole realm of nature mine,<\/span>
\nThat were a present far too small:<\/span>
\nLove so amazing, so divine,<\/span>
\nDemands my soul, my life, my all.\u00a0 <\/span>
\n(TiS 342 vv 1,4)<\/span><\/div>\n
*******<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018It depends on faith\u2019. Genesis 15: 1 \u2013 6; Romans 4: 1 \u2013 12; John 5: 5 \u2013 16, 39 – 42 XXX \u2018It depends on faith.\u2019 Paul writes to the Roman Church and says, \u2018it depends on faith\u2019 [Rom 4:16] Paul is making a breath-taking statement. Paul has been saying that our relationship with God does not depend on our effort, our moral goodness or our holiness, but our relationship with God depends solely on our faith in what God has done in Christ Jesus. The reason is that the image of God in us is so tarnished we can\u2019t clean it up ourselves. God alone can make us good enough to be included in God\u2019s family.\u00a0 All we can do is trust God. Deep down we know we aren\u2019t good enough. Unfortunately we also don\u2019t trust God enough. I recall visiting a member in hospital. She was one of those in the inner circle of the Church. She was involved in adult education. There she was in hospital, very sick. I asked if she was at peace with God. She replied, \u201cI\u2019m not sure I am good enough to go to God.\u201d I was a little surprised. Her tone of voice echoed her uncertainty and there was a hint of fear. My standard reply to someone who says this to me is that they aren\u2019t good enough and never will be, but God accepts us and makes us right with God through Christ Jesus. That is the Gospel. That is Good News!\u00a0 It is one of the hardest things for people to understand that God accepts us as we are and makes us good enough to enter God\u2019s presence and group, because of the work of Jesus Christ. Paul has argued very thoroughly that the way to God is not through us achieving any level of goodness, or because one is circumcised, or because of belonging to a religious group or ethnic group, or because we have been baptised, but because God gives us the gift of God\u2019s acceptance of us. Paul writes; For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. [Rom 3: 23-25] The point is that our sin \u2013 assertion of self against the other \u2013 has broken down our connectivity to the rest of life.\u00a0 Our assertiveness destroys our relationships. Our sin is a destructive force undermining our inter-community relationships, personal relationships and even our sense of self-worth.\u00a0 At best our connectivity to others is weak and shallow.\u00a0 Paul reinforces the gift of God\u2019s love to us by saying that if we could earn God\u2019s acceptance it would\u00a0 merely be something we deserve.\u00a0 It wouldn\u2019t be a gift. Like wages received for work done our thank you, if at all, is perfunctory. It is not necessary to thank someone for your wages. One\u2019s wages are our due. If we could prove that we are worthy we would not need God to help us.\u00a0 God\u2019s gift of love comes to us as pure gift \u2013 love given to the unworthy. That is grace. God loves us all \u2013 from the worst to the best of us.\u00a0 This gift gives us benefits. God\u2019s gift builds up our self-esteem.\u00a0 For all our failings God\u2019s acceptance of us tells us that we are worthy because we are God\u2019s.\u00a0 Even if we are not so worthy in the eyes of the world, we are God\u2019s creation made in God image and God does not make trash.\u00a0 Humans make trash God doesn\u2019t. God\u2019s gift teaches us to be grateful.\u00a0 Gratitude is a life giving emotion. A thankful heart is an energise heart.\u00a0 The heartbeat of the thankful person is stronger than the heartbeat of the cynic or the sad person. The gift of God\u2019s love energises us to reciprocate in some way or other. We cannot be loved without being moved to love.\u00a0 God\u2019s gift of acceptance through Christ calls forth trust in us.\u00a0 Without faith where would we be? Faith in this instance is not belief in a set of rules or principles or precepts, it is having faith in someone. Faith here is trust. Trust belongs to a relationship. One cannot enter into a relationship without a measure of trust. Good relationships are built on trust that is ever deepening. This is the Gospel. This is why we need the Gospel.\u00a0 We are a disconnected people. Our common history and our personal history point to this disconnection within the fabric of our personal and communal lives. God meets us at this point of need for connection with others, this world and God. The connection begins with God who declares God\u2019s acceptance of our unworthiness.\u00a0 Then God sets us on a path of renewal through Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit. God accepts us as we are and begins the process of restoring the tarnished image of God\u2019s self in us. That is a long road to walk and for some of us it is a very hard road. It is an earthly-life walk. Only as the image of God begins to be restored do we become beacons of life and love. God has given us the gift of life and love and God has given us marvellous examples. There was the 17th Century preacher\u2019s boy who grumbled about the dirgy psalms they had to sing. The boy was a bit like his father. His father had an independent and thoughtful mind. He had been imprisoned on two occasions for his nonconformist beliefs. When his son complained about the dirgy music of the church his father snapped and told him to be quiet or do something about it. The boy did. He grew up with a fine mind, a gift for poetry and love<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":5440,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sermons"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/outside-view.jpg",2048,1536,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/outside-view.jpg",2048,1536,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/outside-view.jpg",2048,1536,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/outside-view-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/outside-view-300x225.jpg",300,225,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/outside-view-1024x768.jpg",1024,768,true],"news_plugin_small":["https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/outside-view.jpg",700,525,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/outside-view-1536x1152.jpg",1536,1152,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/outside-view.jpg",2048,1536,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Rev Peter Whitaker","author_link":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/author\/peter"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"Sermons<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"\u2018It depends on faith\u2019. Genesis 15: 1 \u2013 6; Romans 4: 1 \u2013 12; John 5: 5 \u2013 16, 39 – 42 XXX \u2018It depends on faith.\u2019 Paul writes to the Roman Church and says, \u2018it depends on faith\u2019 [Rom 4:16] Paul is making a breath-taking statement. Paul has been saying that our relationship with…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2096"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2096\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6971,"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2096\/revisions\/6971"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}