Listen to Sermon
Pastor Tom Johnson, February 10, 2019
In our reading from 1 Corinthians, Paul reminds us of the importance of the Gospel—the good news of Jesus Christ. It is simple. “Christ died for our sins;” “he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day...according to the Scriptures.” This is not Paul’s invention. He received this message of God’s grace and love. He is now passing it along. In order to highlight his urgency and authenticity, he reminds us of his own story and how the Gospel impacted his life. You will remember, too, that Paul was a persecutor of the church. He was an accessory to the murder of Stephen and was responsible for arresting many followers of Jesus. So Paul calls himself the least worthy of all the apostles. That is the power and beauty of Paul’s conversion. He was not worthy of being called to be a servant of Christ’s Kingdom. But by the grace of God—by God’s unconditional love and gift, God calls Paul to be a servant. God has a plan for Paul. His plan is to use Paul to build up and propagate the same church he persecuted.
When God chooses the prophet Isaiah, Isaiah also says, “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips.” And yet, by that same grace, God calls Isaiah to be his servant. When Jesus calls Peter, Peter shrinks back in fear and says, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” And yet, by that same grace, God calls Peter to be his servant too. Paul says, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain.” This is deeply personal for Paul. He shares his story so that we too can join him, Isaiah, Peter, and all those whom God calls.
What is your story? How many of us have done things in the past that we later regret? Do you ever feel unworthy? Do you ever wonder if God can look past our failures and flaws? Do you wonder if God has a plan for your life? We all have demons in our past. None of us is worthy based on our past. We could all tell Jesus to just go away. He does not come to condemn but to save. Our own guilt, shame, and unworthiness is what threatens to paralyze us. I wonder if anyone told Paul, “You just need to forgive yourself, Paul, and move on in your life.” We might be tempted to think that we also just need to put our past behind us and find strength within to reform ourselves. But the good news is Paul is not a self-made man. The good news is not our mustering the strength to redeem ourselves.
Paul says, “But by the grace of God I am what I am.” Paul is looking at his story through the lens of grace. He knows that he does not deserve nor could he earn God’s forgiveness. It is a gift. By the grace of God he is now a child of God. God knows all the bad things Paul had done. But God believes in Paul. God has a plan to forgive Paul and call him to be one of his servants—to bring the same message of good news through Paul to the world. Paul’s testimony is in the Scripture to help us better understand the Gospel upon which we stand. But by the grace of God we are who we are. We are sinners saved by grace. We are called together to be a voice of acceptance, forgiveness, and hope.
God believes in you. He sent his son Jesus to die to break the power of sin and death. He sent his son Jesus to rise again from the dead to bring us the assurance of forgiveness and eternal life. That is the good news. By the grace of God we are who we are, unworthy people but called to bring that same good news to those who come across our paths. A big step in that journey is for each of us to come to a place where we can also say, “I am what I am.” By the grace of God, I am a sinner who has discovered the unconditional love and forgiveness of my creator. By the grace of God, I am a child of God—adopted by the Word of Christ’s promise and the water that washes away all my sin. By the grace of God, I am what I am. I am a servant of the Most High. I can look at my life through the lens of God’s grace. God has a plan to use me for his Kingdom. I am a servant not out of a sense of fear or duty but out of thanksgiving and joy. By the grace of God, I am a believer. I not only believe in God’s forgiveness and plan for me. I believe in others. I believe that same Gospel can transform the lives around us. God believes in us. By the grace of God we are who we are. By the grace of God, we come to terms with our own stories. And in the confidence of God’s love we can boldly say, “By the grace of God, I am what I am”—forgiven, called, and equipped.
Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because Thy Promise I believe,
Just as I am; Thy love unknown
Has broken ev’ry barrier down;
Now to be Thine, yea, Thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come. (“Just as I am, without One Plea” LSB 570 vv. 5,6)
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