Sermon Detail

Back in October, I was listening to an episode of This American Life when I heard a story that absolutely blew my mind. It was the story of a woman named Cathy who had a problem. A serious problem.

You see, Cathy swallowed a nail… On purpose.

She was a troubled 13 year old in a psychiatric institution when the thought first came to her. Here, let me play you a little bit of the episode so you can hear what happened.

38:18-39:15
Jessica Benko Cathy says it felt good to swallow the nail. And once it was in her stomach, she felt intense relief. The thought was no longer nagging her. Doctors put her in the hospital and waited for the nail to pass. But once it was gone, the thought returned with increasing frequency, again and again.

Cathy It was horrible. I was tortured. I literally was tortured in my mind. I've swallowed pencils, hundreds of pencils, multiple toothbrushes, nails, a plastic fork, knives, two antennas-- radio antennas. I swallowed a chess piece, a book bracket. I don't know what it's called, the thing that goes on a shelf, it holds the shelf. Oh, yeah, battery and glass.
[BR1]
The story goes on. Over the years, Cathy had more than 500 endoscopies to remove objects she had swallowed. All of this swallowing put Cathy’s life in extreme danger, but she couldn’t help herself.

Cathy’s doctors believed it was a severe case of obsessive-compulsive disorder. She had an overwhelming compulsion to swallow things and would be in absolute agony until she did.

Even though she was causing herself incredible harm, she took every opportunity she could get to find new objects to swallow.

They tried everything. Electro-shock treatments, drugs, therapy… but nothing could stop this urge. The urge to swallow. They finally had no choice but to keep Cathy in a straight jacket.

Her life was pretty miserable. Until she was transferred to a new hospital, where they decided to try a somewhat controversial treatment sometimes used for cases of extreme OCD. It’s a high tech procedure where they burn away a very precise section of the brain. The risks were low and the side effects were minor, so Cathy agreed to try it.

The surgery took two hours. When it was over, Cathy knew that things had changed.

The urge to swallow had vanished. It was completely gone.

Today, Cathy lives a pretty normal life. She has an apartment. A boyfriend. A job. And she collects pens. She keeps a whole jar full of them sitting on her desk. Why? Because she doesn’t want to swallow them anymore. To Cathy, the pens represent a release from bondage. They remind her every day that she is free.

TRANSITION
Now, this may seem like a pretty wild, off-the-wall story. But it’s not as uncommon as you might think. In fact, I would bet that every single person in this room knows someone just like Cathy.

Sure, they probably don’t compulsively swallow dangerous objects, but many of the people we love are nonetheless trapped. They are slaves to compulsions that are killing them but they think that they are free…

Today we are in the fourth week of our series, American Soul: the faith and fate of those we love. Over the last three weeks, we’ve been looking at the rapidly changing realities facing our (perhaps not so) “Christian” nation. We’ve explored the book of Romans to see what God has to say about these realities, and we’ve discussed a pretty crucial question: What are we going to do about all of this?

This weekend, we’re going to explore a tiny word that has massive implications for the people we love. That word is “sin.”

Romans
We’re going to be looking at Romans chapter 6 today, so grab your Bibles. We’ll be jumping around the chapter a bit, so if you prefer to read things in order. You’re just out of luck today.

Now, as you’ve heard already in this series, the book of Romans was written by the apostle Paul to the church in Rome. In chapter 6 he’s talking specifically about their lives, but he lays out some very concrete ideas about the nature of sin. This is going to help us talk about the lives of our friends and family who maybe don’t consider themselves Christ-followers.

Ok, first of all. We know that everybody sins. Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” But how is sin different for those who don’t follow Christ? Well let’s start reading at verse 15.

Romans 6:15-18
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey – whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

So what is sin? Sin is slavery. Sin is a lack of choice. Sin is doing what you’re told to do. Ah, but it doesn’t feel like that, does it? No. You see, sin feels like freedom. And this is one of the most brilliant deceptions of the Evil One. When our friends and family sin, they’re doing what they want. They’re doing what feels good. It’s their choice.

But they’re not free. According to Paul, they’re just marching to the drums of their slave-master. They’re hanging from strings like a marionette.

Cathy thought she was free too. Before she had her surgery, her deepest desire was to swallow nails and pens and radio antennas. For her, freedom meant being able to swallow anything she wanted.

But Cathy wasn’t free. She was a slave to the compulsion in her head. She had no choice in the matter. She did whatever her condition told her to do, even if it ended up killing her.

And the same is true for our loved ones.

I think subconsciously, we all know that there is more going on than what we can see with our eyes. I mean, just think of all the storylines we keep putting in our movies.

The Matrix is real, Neo!
Soylent Green is people!
May the odds be ever in your favor!
I see dead people…
You’re a wizard, Harry.

We love stories that reveal our ignorance at what’s really going on in our world. Hidden powers, secret conspiracies, the wool pulled over our eyes… It’s like we’re hard-wired to believe that there is more going on here than we know.

And yet. When it comes to questions of sin and consequences and evil, our friends and neighbors scoff and say, “Come on. I’m in control here.”

But they’re not in control. The people we love are slaves. Slaves to sin. Slaves to addiction. Slaves to rebellion against God’s commands. They’re doing exactly what they want to do. They’re swallowing nails. And it’s killing them from the inside.

Those of us who follow Christ know this to be true. After being set free of the power of sin, we had our eyes opened. We took the red pill. We visited District 13. We boarded the train at platform 9 ¾.

Romans 6:20-21
When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.

We know what it means to be alive. Looking back on the life we used to live, we realize that when we were also slaves to sin, we weren’t living. We were dying.

I think we can all agree we don’t want our loved ones to die. We don’t want our friends and family to be slaves. We don’t want them to swallow nails anymore.

So what do we do? How do we rescue our friends and family? How do we set them free if they don’t even know they’re enslaved?

Well, we can go ahead and rule out a few strategies that don’t seem to work.

First, there’s moralizing: taking a holier-than-thou posture and trying to persuade our friends to change. Arguing, handing out tracts, yelling slogans from the side of the road. Raise your hands if you left a life of sin because of a three-point outline.

Second, there’s legislating: trying to enforce morality through our legal system. Prohibition is a pretty good example of this. The government made it illegal to drink, so people found ways to do it in secret. I’m not saying it’s wrong to make moral laws, but don’t expect legislation to change someone’s heart.

Finally, there’s hiding: bunkering up inside our churches while the world goes to hell in a hand basket. We create Christian music, Christian art, Christian romance novels and then wait for our sinful neighbors to start flooding the pews. Well, I’m sorry, but a cleverly worded t-shirt isn’t going to convict someone of their sin.

Moralizing, legislating, hiding… We’ve tried all of those strategies and they just don’t work.

So what do we do? How do we help our loved ones see their slavery to sin for what it is? If we can’t convince them to change or force them to change, is there anything else left to try?

Do you want the hard truth? The answer is no. No. There is nothing that you or I can do or say that will free our friends from sin. That is not within our power.

The only way our loved ones will find freedom is if they are the ones who want it. It needs to be their desire.

We can’t force them to do anything. But we can entice them. And here’s the good news. What we have is pretty darn attractive.

Let me explain what I mean. Look back at Romans 6 verse 1.

Romans 6:1-10
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

Do you see a theme in that passage?

Verse 4 – We live a new life
Verse 5 – We are united with Christ in his resurrection
Verse 8 – We will live with Christ

The common thread is life. We’re not dead anymore. We have been raised with Christ. We are free.

And that freedom - that rich life of faith and joy and mission – that is what our loved ones need to see. They need to want what we have, but they won’t know what we have until we show them.

Eternal Life
For a long time, I think we have completely missed the point of Romans 6:23. Take a look. The way I always used to read it was:

For the wages of sin is hell, but the gift of God is heaven after you die.

But that’s not what it says. It says, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

This includes the concept of judgment, of course, but the phrase “eternal life” isn’t just code for some ethereal afterlife. A more accurate phrasing would be, “life of the coming age.”

Here, let me take a put it another way.

The world is a broken place. Humanity’s relationship with God is broken because of sin. We live in willful, open rebellion to his commands. Our relationships with each other are broken. War, genocide, rape, murder and theft all plague humanity. Even our relationship with creation is broken. Pollution, drought, famine, disease, extinction… The world is in decay.

But…

That isn’t the end of the story.

God has been working to redeem this world. He has given us a vision of a new world order.

He sent his son, Jesus (Emmanuel, God with us), to take our sin, our brokenness, our shame upon himself. He died on the cross to defeat the power of death once and for all. And when he rose again, resurrected on the third day, he inaugurated a new era for this world.

The seeds of rebellion were planted in the hearts of humanity. Sin, death and fear no longer had their power. Looking up from our shackles, we saw the truth. It was time to rise up against our old master, sin. We were invited to serve someone new. A king who rules with justice and righteousness and life. And in this kingdom, all who choose to follow Christ have already been set free.

The kingdom of God is growing. Light is spreading throughout this dark world. For the last 2000 years, the servants of the Most High God have been insurrectionists. Dismantling the power of death. Bringing hope to the hopeless. Seeking justice where there is none.

But this is just a taste of the full restoration that is yet to come. Some day, the kingdom of God will come in all its power. Sin and death won’t just be powerless. They’ll be eradicated.

In the new heaven and the new earth, those broken relationships (with God, with each other, with creation) will be made whole. God will be our master, and there will be no one else to serve.

Revelation 21:4
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

This is why we must live out our faith with boldness in the world. This is why we must show our friends and family and coworkers and neighbors what it means to be truly free. It’s not about doing good things so we can go to heaven when we die. It’s about living lives that point ahead to the coming restoration.

As N.T. Wright says in his book, Surprised by Hope, we are “a living, breathing little bit of ‘new creation.’”

The world is broken. Some day it will be completely renewed. Our lives are meant to be a taste of that renewal right now.

“With Easter, God’s new creation is launched upon a surprised world, pointing ahead to the renewal, the redemption, the rebirth of the entire creation… Every act of love, every deed done in Christ and by the Spirit, every work of true creativity – doing justice, making peace, healing families, resisting temptation, seeking and winning true freedom – is an earthly event in a long history of things that implement Jesus’s own resurrection and anticipate the final new creation…”
Surprised by Hope, N.T. Wright

Big Idea:

This is why Jesus calls us to be salt and light in Matthew 5.

Matthew 5:13-16
You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

We have tasted the restoration of this world. We have been freed from the power of sin. We have been brought into relationship with the creator of the universe and indwelt with the Holy Spirit.

Our lives should be radiant.

You see, our job isn’t to convince or persuade or argue. Our job is simply to follow Christ and let him shine through us.

A couple of weeks ago I was on my way home after a month in South Sudan. I had been traveling for about 22 hours when I boarded my final plane from New York to Indy. I sat down, pulled out my Kindle, and started to read.

The man sitting next to me turned and said, “So, are you heading home?” Groan… “Uh, yeah. I am.” (I’m not a huge fan of chatting with strangers on airplanes). Well, then he started asking about my trip. I told him about what I was writing in South Sudan. I told him about World Next Door. I mentioned Grace.

And then, all of a sudden, he said, “You know, I am just so inspired by young people who live their lives for others. I need to start volunteering more. So is your church part of a denomination? I’m not a Christian so I don’t really understand denominations. Also, what’s the difference between the Old and New Testaments? Can you explain that to me?”

I was like, “Uh… Ok?” Out of nowhere I found myself sharing the gospel with this man. I couldn’t believe it.

I didn’t initiate the conversation. I wasn’t looking for a chance to evangelize. Honestly, all I really wanted to do was to be left alone so I could read my book. But he was eager to learn more. Hungry for understanding. All because he got a quick glimpse of what it meant for me to follow Jesus.

Now, look. I’m not saying we all need to start evangelizing everybody we sit next to on an airplane. That’s not my point.

All I’m saying is that, when we live out our faith, not in a moralistic, holier-than-thou way, but with a genuine passion for following Christ, it is attractive. The fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control… people are drawn to them.

It has nothing to do with your personality or intelligence or fashion sense. When people see Christ in you, they’re going to want a piece of that.

1. Live life with people

Ok, so let’s get really practical. How do we do this? What does it really mean to show our loved ones true freedom. Well, I have three ideas of where we could start.

The first is something you’ve already heard multiple times in this series, and that’s, “Stay in the room.” Live life with people. For your friends and family to understand what true freedom looks like, they need to see you live it out day after day after day.

· They need to be close enough to see how you treat your children. How else will they learn the freedom that comes from patience and forgiveness?

· They need to be close enough to see how you spend your money. How else will they learn the freedom that comes from giving and generosity?

· They need to be close enough to see how you treat a homeless person, or someone with special needs, or even your McDonalds cashier. How else will they learn the freedom that comes from love and dignity?

· Oh, and one more thing. They need to be close enough to see you screw up, to sin. How else will they learn about the freedom that comes from grace?

It’s not always pretty. If you’re like me, the last thing you want is for someone to see how imperfect you are. But guys, Christ lives in you. He is transforming you. Your friends need to see that transformation.

2. Don’t be ashamed

The second thing we need to do has also been mentioned in this series already. And it’s this: Don’t be ashamed.

Romans 1:16
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.

If you’re living your life with people, staying in the room, there will definitely be times where your choices and convictions will seem ridiculous.

“You’re giving a tenth of your money to the church? Are you nuts?”

“You’re waiting to have sex until you’re married??? Are you some kind of Puritan?”

“You’re going to forgive that person who hurt you? Don’t you want revenge?”

It’s easy to wither under that kind of criticism. I almost burst into tears in 3^rd grade when the kids on the bus tried to get me to say the F word.

But don’t be ashamed! God has called you to something greater than the cheap thrills and short-lived pleasures of sin. He wants you to have the best possible life, the richest possible relationships… And it’s ok to tell your friends this.

“Yeah, I’m waiting until I get married to have sex because I believe it’s the best way to find true intimacy.”

“Sure, I give my money to the church. Being generous is so freeing. Besides, I don’t really believe it’s mine anyway.”

Following Christ is the best possible way to live. So don’t be ashamed!

3. Let the Spirit work

Finally, we have to remember that it’s the Holy Spirit who will ultimately change the hearts of our loved ones. No amount of convincing or persuading on our part is going to do the job.

Yes, we need to speak the truth. We need to go there from time to time. Romans 10:14, “How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?”

But for most of us, most of the time, our job is simply to be present in our friends’ lives. Bold in our convictions. And patient, while we let the Spirit work.

CONCLUSION

Our friends and family are swallowing nails. They’re out of control. Slaves to the power of sin. But they don’t have to stay that way.

Your life is a shining, brilliant reminder of God’s restoration. A glimpse at the world made right. Live out that truth in their lives, and some day they’ll want what you have.

Your loved ones could be free. All you have to do is show them what that looks like.