Sermon for October 29th, 2017
Romans 8:31-39
31 What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? 33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The Doctrine of Perseverance of the Saints
For some people it's Christmas. For others, it's Easter. But for me...my favorite Sunday of the year is Reformation Sunday. I love the bagpipes and drums, the red and tartan plaid, the old 16th century prayers and liturgies, and getting to sing my most favorite hymn at the end of the service. More than that, I love the history and heritage we celebrate on this day. I look forward to this Sunday for pretty much the entire month of October.
And THIS year! This is the 500th anniversary of Reformation Day--the day Martin Luther sparked the Reformation with his 95 bold ideas nailed to the door of the church in Wittenberg. I've been looking forward to THIS Reformation Sunday--and all of the celbrations that are being observed around the world--for almost an entire year now.
But it's not just me. On the eve of this historic date, all of the presby-nerd pastors and elder-commissioners in West Texas gathered together last Thursday and Friday in San Angelo for our quarterly Presbytery meeting, complete with a guest lecturer on Reformation History, and a Reformation-themed costume party. I was ready with the Genevan Scholar's cap I ordered just for this occasion--and of course I've been doing my level best to grow out this reformed beard for the past two months!
So...One week ago today, I was filled with so much excitement and anticipation, I could hardly stand it.
My week began Monday morning when we got word that long-time church member Jack Barron was in the ICU, and about to be placed in Hospice care. Of course, I dropped everything to go see him.
Tuesday was parent-teacher conference day for my kids, which is always a little hectic, but manageable. Then late Tuesday morning I got a call from our church preschool letting me know that a handgun had been found on our church playground. Fortunately, school was not in session, and the handgun was quickly identified, removed, and no one was harmed, but most of the rest of the day was spent working with law enformcement and trying to figure out exactly what happened.
Wednesday morning began with a personnel committee meeting that was difficult, but necessary. Right after that meeting, we got the call that Jack Barron had passed away. On Wednesday, we also began to get calls from the media and from concerned parents about the handgun incident.
Thursday morning was filled with phone calls, emails, and meetings with parents and media. That's when I decided to cancel my trip to the Presbytery meeting in San Angleo.
Friday, after meeting with Jack Barron's family, and several more preschool parents, I found out that another member of our congregation was in the hospital and diagnosed with cancer. While I was in the hospital visiting with that member, I got a call letting me know that May Fiske has entered into hospice care. And so of course, I dropped everything to visit her as well.
It was pretty late by the time I got home Friday night, to an inbox full of more urgent emails and text messages to answer. That's about when it dawned on me that I still had two sermons to write--one for Jack Barron's service this afternoon, and another for this morning on the 500th anniversary of the Reformation and the Docctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints.
I don't feel like much of a saint, but this week has certainly been an exercise in perseverance (which, incidentally, Webster's defines as, "continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition").
Of course, for John Calvin and the 16th century reformers, the "perseverance" of the saints was not accomplished by the continued effort of the individual, but rather through the persistent effort of God, who gives his chosen ones the strength to endure trials and temptations throughout their lives and into eternity. This doctrine has been summed up with the catch phrase, "Once saved, always saved."
The Reformers looked to Paul's words in today's scripture passage, where he says for God's elect, nothing--"neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
But what about those who believe in Christ, but then later change their mind? Does it mean they were never really "saved" in the first place? And what about people who believe, but then experience frequent doubt (by the way, Mother Theresa was, by her own admission, in that category!). According to the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, shouldn't God be strengthening their faith so that it's impossible for them to doubt or turn away?
In Classic Calvinism, the ultimate trajectory of a person's journey is more important than the twists and turns that happen along the road. And in any case, for the Calvinist, "choosing" whether or not to believe in God is NOT what makes a person "saved." It's GOD choosing YOU before the beginning of time itself--and if that happens, eventually God's "Irresistible Grace" is going to draw you to him, no matter how many detours you take along the way.
In Darwinian Evolution, I think that the "Perseverance of the Saints" finds its equivalent idea in the "Preservation of the Species." It's just a slight difference of where the immortality resides. For Calvin, some individuals die in their sins, while others through God's Unconditional Election are sanctified, regenerated, and receive eternal life. For Darwin, some species die out while others, through the process of Natural Selection, evolve, improve, and thrive for millions of years.
