Readings: Jeremiah 20:7-13 | Romans 6:12-23 | Matthew 10:5a, 21-33
Text: Romans 6:12-23
“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
These words are spoken during the Imposition of Ashes at the Ash Wednesday Divine Service as Lent begins. The words are drawn from Genesis 3:19 in which God said to Adam,
“By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
The sin of Adam and Eve brought death. St. Paul told the Romans,
“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” (Romans 5:12)
As the children of Adam and Eve, sin has been passed on to all of us. We are born in sin, and in this life we commit sin. There can be only one outcome, for as Paul stated,
“For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23)
Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent as repentant sinners. Whenever we confess our sin and we acknowledge that it produces the death that we deserve. For this reason too, ashes are used on Ash Wednesday. In the biblical world, ashes were sign of repentance and lamentation. Jesus said,
"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes” (Matthew 11:21)
Maybe we don’t come as repentant sinners. Maybe part of us says that our sins aren’t really that bad. I can manage my sins. I can keep them under control and lead a decent life. Sin might lead to death for others—adulterers, drug addicts, gang members, gamblers who give the slip to their bookies. But my thoughts, my thoughtless words—they couldn’t possibly get the death sentence. That’s not what God says.
“The soul who sins shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:4)
“The wages of sin is death.”
But if you are here, you have already confessed that you are sinners who will die because of sin. This is an admission steeped in humility. We have offended the holy God, and King David’s words are true for us:
“Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment” (Psalm 51:4).
Our sin has earned us death, and it’s no use trying to change that fact. There’s no reparations we can make to God. No excuse will suffice.
“Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the Lord; how much more the hearts of the children of man!” (Prov. 15:11)
We begin Lent in repentant humility. But we also begin it in hope, for Lent is a season that prepares us for Holy Week and Easter. The apostle Paul wrote that “the wages of sins is death,” yet then he went on to add,
“but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
He described how sin entered into the world through Adam and passed on to all of us, but then later in the same chapter he wrote,
“Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous” (Rom 5:18-19).
Adam brought death. Our sins have earned our own condemnation, but Paul told the Corinthians:
“For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:21-23).
Lent begins with ashes, but it prepares us for water. In humility we confess our sin as we prepare for Holy Week, for on Good Friday we will see Jesus offer Himself on the cross as the ransom for many (Matthew 20:28) – as the ransom for us. We will see that,
“in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them.”
(2 Corinthians 5:19).
Instead, Jesus Christ received God’s judgment against our sin. As the apostle Paul went on to say,
“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
(2 Corinthians 5:21)
Jesus Christ died for us and was buried. At the Vigil of Easter we return in faith to what happened in our own baptism. St. Paul wrote,
“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life”.
(Romans 6:3-4)
Through our baptism we have shared in Jesus’ saving death for us – we have been buried with him.
Yet the Vigil of Easter is the first service of the Feast of the Resurrection of Our Lord. Jesus died, but on the third day he rose from the dead. And because we have shared in the saving death of the risen Lord we know that we will too. Paul went on to say about baptism,
“For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” (Romans 6:5)
In the movement from Ash Wednesday to the Vigil of Easter we once again pass from ash to water; from sin to forgiveness; from death to life. While in the struggle against our sinful flesh, and its desire to enslave us, we continue to have need to repent. In this, our baptism assures faith that forgiveness and life has been gained for us. It’s not because of our striving, but the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Ashes remind us of the death which is always looming over our mortal bodies. The wages of sin is death is a constant reality of which we are all reminded. But the gift of Christ has come. It has been delivered to you in Holy Baptism—even if you or your parents may have misunderstood Baptism, the Lord Christ definitely knew what He was doing:
3Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
Let the water of your Holy Baptism assure you of something more true than your sins (which have been defeated). You are baptized into Christ! Remember how He raised several during His ministry. These were realizations of His saving work. If the wages of sin is death, He has defeated the power of sin, and thus overturned death. That’s why it’s so important that in the divine service, forgiveness of sins is declared. The sting which sin has over you has been eliminated by Jesus’ death. His resurrected life is proclaimed to you. It’s delivered to you when He says, “Take; eat. This is my Body given for you. Take; drink; this is my Blood shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” Every one of us, baptized into Christ share in His peace; share in His defeat of death.
You have been saved from the wages which your sin deserved. Bodily death only lasts for a time. At the Last,
“The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” (Matthew 13:37-43)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
*Original sermon by Pastor Mark Surburg, edited by Pastor Michael Miller.
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