Dear friends in Christ,

          Some days I truly feel like I'm dying.  Ever since that big birthday threshold last year, a thought has been on my mind: "How long do I have left?"  It's a morbid question to some folks, I suppose, but it's not a foolish one.  How long does any of us have left?  I knew another pastor who had to deal with this issue.  He'd just had his 60th birthday and hadn't been feeling all that well, and so he came to the office one morning and announced quietly to one of the workers (which I overheard), "I think I won't make 65."  Well, today he's 77, and though he's had open heart surgery and other health problems, he's still quite active.  I think we all wonder at times how long we have left on this earth, and that thought should make us want to make the most of what time we have left.

          We people wonder about these things because we're weak, and our weakness is due to our sinful nature.  In our age of advanced medicine, education and sophistication, the idea of "sin" has become almost outmoded.  We talk a lot about humanity, but not what makes humanity so weak.  Today's Bible text tells us why we're weak, why we will all die one day.  It's because of the sin of one man - Adam.  Adam and Eve ate the apple, that is, they rebelled against God and brought sin into the world.

          It's really true as St. Paul says: "...many died by the trespass of the one man [Adam]."  But thanks be to God, he can continue, "...much more did God's grace [come] and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ."  Two men of God - one brought us death and the other brought us life.

          Holy Scripture often uses comparisons to help us understand God's message.  Jesus often used comparisons in His parables (Matthew 13 - "The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed... like a net put down into the lake that caught all kinds of fish... like a treasure hidden in a field...").

          The Bible compares Cain and Able, sons of Adam and Eve, as representing people of belief and people of unbelief.  Faithful King David is compared with unfaithful King Saul, and the faithfulness of mighty prophet Elijah is compared with the unfaithfulness of wicked King Ahab and Queen Jezebel.

          Over and over, the Bible gives us comparisons so that we can understand the difference between sin and grace, between death and life, between the Law and the Gospel.  It's really a comparison of people with God.

          St. Paul in our text compares two men - two men of God - and the effects these two men had and still have on our world.  The first man is Adam who brought sin into the world.  Adam is not evil, just sinful.  He thought he could do all things on his own.  He broke the perfect covenant with God.  The second man is Jesus Christ who brought mercy and grace into a world of sin.  Jesus is our Lord, perfect in every respect, the man who died to pay the penalty of our sins, the Son of God who rose again to give us hope for our own resurrection.

          One man gave us sin, the other man gave us grace.  One gave us trouble, the other gave us hope.  Adam was weak, but Jesus had the strength of God.  Adam brought us temporal death, and Jesus brought us eternal life.  Adam brought sin and wickedness into the world, but Jesus Christ brought us forgiveness and mercy.

          Have you heard the "Perfect Story?"  A perfect man met a perfect woman.  After a perfect courtship, they had a perfect wedding.  Their life together was, of course, perfect.  One stormy Christmas Eve this perfect couple was driving along a winding road when they noticed someone at the roadside in distress.  Being the perfect couple, they stopped to help.  There stood Santa Claus with a huge bundle of toys.  Not wanting to disappoint children on Christmas Eve, the perfect couple loaded Santa and his toys into their car and helped him deliver toys.  Unfortunately, the perfect couple and Santa Claus had an accident, and only one of them survived the accident.

          Who was the survivor?  Answer: The perfect woman.  She's the only one that really existed in the first place.  Everyone knows there is no such thing as a perfect man or Santa Claus.  A Male's Response is slightly different: So, if there is no perfect man or Santa Claus, the perfect woman must have been driving.  This explains the car accident.  (PS: why is it okay to make fun of men, but it's NOT okay to make fun of women?)

          I think this story illustrates part of today's Bible text.  Nobody's perfect!  Adam and Eve weren't, and neither are we.  We are born sinful.  We start out with two strikes against us, and the third is coming down the plate.  Adam's sin - and Eve's sin - really messed us up.  Every generation has borne the consequences.

          Yet so many today don't believe in sin.  They think we just make wrong choices, and if we'd just listen to them, we'd all be better off.  Sin is more than wrong choices.  Sin causes wrong choices.  Sin perverts goodness.  Sin twists the truth.  Sin makes us angry with each other.

          In centuries past theologians have pointed out Seven Deadly Sins:  Pride, Greed, Envy, Wrath, Lust, Gluttony and Sloth.  I think we all know what these words mean, and if some of you kids don't know about them, ask your Mom or Dad.  Each of these words represents the results of not following God's ways.  They usually come in sets, so where there's one, others will follow.

          These sins are not just for Christians.  Hindus, Buddhists, Moslems, Jews, and atheists are all guilty of these sins in some form.  They come to us from the first man, Adam.  But they are all forgiven when we repent and trust in Jesus Christ as our Lord.  There is no unforgivable sin except unbelief.  If you don't believe, you can't be forgiven, and if you aren't forgiven, you can't get to heaven.

          Now if I wrote that in the newspaper, I'd get hung, drawn and quartered by a lot of people, including some who call themselves Christian.  "Forget sin!" they say.  "That's too negative.  Talk about grace or peace or love.  That's what religion is for!"  But we're not talking about religion here - but about faith in Christ Jesus.  True Christianity is not just religion.  It is all about the Faith.  It is about the Truth.  Christianity gives us life.  Religion is mostly ideas, but faith in Jesus Christ is all that matters.

          St. Augustine once said, "Understanding is the reward of faith.  Seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand."  But Christian faith is always accompanied by Christian works.  William Booth once wrote, "Faith and works should travel side by side, step answering to step, like the legs of a person walking.  First faith, and then works; and then faith again, and then works again, until they can scarcely distinguish which is the one and which is the other."

          And Martin Luther puts it all in the right perspective when he said, "God our Father has made all things depend on faith so that whoever has faith will have everything, and whoever does not have faith will have nothing."  Two men were sent into the world.  God created Adam and God created the man Jesus Christ.  One brought us sin and trouble; the other brought us forgiveness and peace.

          Back in the heyday of passenger trains, a train was going full speed in a blinding rainstorm.  The passengers worried out loud, some cried, and a few demanded the conductor stop the train.  Only a small boy playing with his mother, was oblivious to the danger.  An old grandma said, "Sonny, sit down.  Don't you realize how dangerous this train is?"  The boy replied, "I'm not worried.  My Daddy's the engineer!"

          Who is your engineer?  Who's in charge of your life?  If it's Adam - or greed or worry or pride - then expect to be worried out loud, or crying or demanding.  But if Christ is your engineer, then relax and enjoy the ride.  Your life won't be perfect, but it will be good because God is good.  More and more I hear Americans complain about how bad things are when they're probably as good as they've ever been.  And in Jesus Christ, they are!  Christ makes all things new, including you and me.  Amen

Copyright © 2006 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.