Jesus is our mediator

This sermon begins with the need to understand that all people have been sinners since Adam's time. In order to be fully delivered from sin and death, we need a mediator to deliver us from sin and death. Jesus is our perfect mediator because he freed us from death through his sacrificial death. Through His resurrection, He gave us new life and reconciled us to Heavenly Father. Anyone who acknowledges Jesus as their personal mediator to the father and accepts him as savior through their baptism is richly gifted with a new life begotten by the Holy Spirit. The admission of his complete dependence on his mediator Jesus allows the baptized person to live in an intimate relationship with him, to grow and to bear much fruit. The aim of this message is to make us acquainted with this mediator, Jesus Christ.

The gift of freedom

Saul was a well-educated and law-abiding Pharisee. Jesus consistently and frankly denounced the teachings of the Pharisees:

Matthew 23,15  «Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You travel across land and sea to win a single person to your faith; and when he is won, you make him a son of hell, twice as bad as yourself. Woe to you, you are blind guides!

Jesus took Saul off the high horse of self-righteousness and freed him from all his sins. He is now the Apostle Paul, and after his conversion through Jesus fought zealously and relentlessly against every form of legalism.

What is legalism? Legalism places tradition above God's law and above human needs. Legalism is a kind of slavery that the Pharisees upheld even though they, like all men, were guilty of the perfect law of God. We are saved by faith, which is a gift from God, through Jesus and not by our works.

Legalism is the enemy of your identity and freedom in Christ. The Galatians and all who accepted Jesus as their Savior were set free from the bondage of sin by Christ, the great deliverer and mediator. The Galatians had cast off their slavery, so Paul vehemently and uncompromisingly urged them to stand steadfast in that freedom. The Galatians were redeemed from the bondage of paganism and faced life-threatening danger of placing themselves under the bondage of the Mosaic law, as written in the Epistle to the Galatians:

Galatians 5,1  «Christ has set us free! Stand firm now and do not allow the yoke of bondage to be placed on you again."

How tragic the situation was can be seen from the clarity of Paul's words at the beginning of the letter:

Galatians 1,6-9 “I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from him who called you into the grace of Christ, to another gospel, even though there is no other. There are only some who confuse you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel other than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have just said, so I say again: If anyone preaches a gospel to you other than what you received, let him be accursed."

Paul's message is about grace, salvation and eternal life, which stands in contrast to legalism. He is concerned either with enslavement to sin - or with freedom in Christ. It is understandable that I cannot speak of a gray area, a torn middle ground or a postponed decision with fatal consequences when it comes to life – or death. In summary, this is what the letter to the Romans says:

Roman 6,23 Schlachter Bible «For the wages of sin is death; But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Legalism still makes man believe that by keeping all sorts of ordinances and rules that he enacts for himself, he can live up to God's idea. Or he takes the 613 commandments and prohibitions, which correspond to the Pharisaic interpretation of the law and seriously believes that he will be accepted and accepted by God if he could keep them. We are also not people who pick out a few of these commandments and believe that they are considered even more just and blessed by God.

We need a mediator

During my lifetime, the Spirit of God has allowed me to recognize or remind myself of the following points that are critical to my new life in Christ:

Mark 12,29  «Jesus answered, “The greatest commandment is this: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is the Lord one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your soul Power. The other thing is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than this."

The law of God requires perfect love for God, neighbor and self. If you do not have divine love for yourself, how can you claim that you can have it for God and for your neighbor:

James 2,10  “For if anyone keeps the whole law and sins against one commandment, he is guilty of the whole law.”

It is a deadly error to believe that without the Mediator Jesus I can stand before God, for it is written:

Roman 3,10  “There is no one who is righteous, not even one.”

One who is lawful clings to the law at the expense of grace. Paul says that such a person is still under the curse of the law. Or to put it more correctly in the term is to remain in death, or to die spiritually in order to remain dead and needlessly miss out on the rich blessings of God's grace. The downside after baptism is living in Christ.

Galatians 3,10-14 Good News Bible «On the other hand, those who want to appear righteous before God by fulfilling the law live under a curse. For it is said in the Holy Scriptures: Curse upon anyone who does not strictly follow all the provisions of the Book of the Law. It is obvious: where the law reigns, no one can be considered righteous before God. Because it also says: Anyone who is considered righteous before God through faith will live. The law, however, is not about faith and trust; The following applies to the law: whoever follows its regulations will live thereby. Christ has redeemed us from the curse under which the law had placed us. For he took the curse on himself in our place. It says in the Holy Scriptures: Anyone who hangs on a tree is cursed by God. So through Jesus Christ the blessing promised to Abraham should come to all nations, so that through trusting faith we might all receive the Spirit that God promised."

I repeat and emphasize, Jesus is our mediator. He gives us eternal life through grace. Legalism is a hallmark of the human need for security. Joy, security and certainty of salvation do not rest “in Christ” alone. They are then based on an apparently correct, but nevertheless incorrect church arrangement, the correct Bible translation and the apparently exactly correct expression of our personal selection and ideas of Bible experts and church officials, the right time of the service, the correct behavior according to human judgment and behavior. But, and this is the crux of the matter, not on Jesus Christ alone! Paul warns us not to let anyone prescribe anything in the area of ​​the law, for example about food and drink, about a particular holiday, the new moon or the Sabbath.

Colossians 2,17 Good News Bible «All this is but a shadow of the new world to come; but the reality is Christ, and this (reality, the new world) is already accessible in his body, the church."

Let's understand this properly. You are free to choose how you want to honor God, what you do, what you don't eat, or what day you want to gather with brothers and sisters and other people to honor and worship God. Paul draws our attention to something important:

1. Corinthians 8,9 Hope for all “Nevertheless, you should be careful that with the freedom you believe you have, you do not harm those whose faith is still weak.”

God does not want us to abuse our freedom or act it out in ways that offend others. He also doesn't want them to feel insecure in their faith and even lose faith in Jesus. Grace gives you the freedom to enjoy who you are in Christ. God's love has also encircled your will to do what He expects or asks of you.

Free from judgment

The gospel is the message of breathtaking freedom. Even if you fall, the evil one, that is the devil, cannot judge you. Just as all your attempts to live a holy life formerly could not bring you out of the first Adam, for you remained a sinner, so your sinful acts cannot tear you "out of Christ" now. You remain righteous in God's eyes because Jesus is your righteousness - and that will never change.

Roman 8,1-4 New Life Bible «So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. Martin Luther said it this way: “So there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” For the power of the Spirit, who gives life, has freed you through Christ Jesus from the power of sin, which leads to death.”

The law could not save us because our human nature resisted it. That is why God sent his son to us. He came in human form like us, but without sin. God destroyed sin's dominion over us by vicariously condemning His Son for our guilt. He did this so that the righteous requirements of the law might be fulfilled by us, and we would no longer be guided by our human nature but by the Spirit of God.

They cannot possibly be tried and condemned and acquitted at the same time. If the judge pronounces you not guilty, there is no conviction, no condemnation. Those who are in Christ are no longer judged and condemned. Your being in Christ is final. You have become a free person. A human begotten and created by God Himself, just as God intended to be one with Him.

Do you still hear accusations against yourself? Your own conscience accuses you, the devil is doing everything in his power to make you believe that you are and remain a great sinner. He sues and convicts you without any right to do so. And there are also people around you who judge you, your statements and actions, maybe even judge them. Don't let this unsettle you. This does not affect you if you are God's property. He placed God's judgment on sin on Jesus, he atoned for you and your guilt and paid all costs with his blood. By believing in him, which is a gift from God, you are absolved and justified from sin and death. You are free, absolutely free, to serve God.

Our mediator, Jesus Christ

Since Jesus is the mediator between God and man, it is appropriate to describe his position as Godman and to trust in him alone. Paul tells us

Roman 8,31-39 NGÜ «What can we say now that we have all this in mind? God is for us; who can harm us? He didn't even spare his own son, but gave him up for all of us. Will not everything else also be given to us along with his Son (our Mediator)? Who else will dare to bring charges against those whom God has chosen? God himself declares them to be righteous. Is there anyone else who could judge her? Jesus Christ died for them, more than that: He was raised from the dead, and he sits at God's right side and intercedes for us. What else can separate us from Christ and his love? Need? Fear? Persecution? Hunger? deprivation? Risk of death? The executioner's sword? We have to reckon with all of this, because it says in Scripture: Because of you we are constantly threatened with death; We are treated like sheep destined for slaughter. And yet, in all this we have an overwhelming victory through the One who loved us so much. Yes, I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor invisible powers, neither the present nor the future, nor forces hostile to God, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation can ever separate us from the love of God that inspires us is given in Jesus Christ, our Lord"

I ask the question: To whom are these words addressed? Is anyone excluded?

1. Timothy 2,3-7 «This is good and acceptable to God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, as his testimony in due time. For this purpose I am appointed as a preacher and apostle - I speak the truth and do not lie - as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth."

These verses are addressed to all people, including you, dear reader. No one is excluded because God loves all people unconditionally. It makes no difference whether you come from a tribe of the people of Israel or from the Gentiles. Whether you have already surrendered your life to God or are about to decide to confirm this with baptism makes no difference, because God loves us all. He wants nothing more than that every human being listens to the voice of his beloved Son Jesus and does what he personally tells him or her to do. He gives us the faith to trust him as our mediator.

Many people refer to the time since Jesus' ascension as the end times. Whatever may happen in our turbulent times, we are thankful to know and always ready to believe anew that Jesus, as our mediator never leaves us, abides in us and leads us to eternal life in his kingdom.

by Toni Püntener