church

INI
The Second Sunday after Epiphany
January 18, 2009
Ascension Lutheran Church, Tacoma WA
Paul Naumann, Pastor

WHAT DOES GOD REQUIRE OF ME?
Micah 6:6-8

To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus
Christ: mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you, Amen. Our text today
comes from the sixth chapter of the Old Testament book of Micah, beginning
with the sixth verse, as follows:

With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before Him with burnt offering, with calves a year old? Will the
Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I
offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my
soul? He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord
require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your
God. This is the Word of God.

In Christ Jesus, our Righteousness and our Ransom Price, Dear Fellow
Redeemed,

When was the last time in your life that you had to start a new job? Can you
remember? For many of you that may have been years and years ago. For some
of you, perhaps, it wasn't long ago at all. I think I can remember the first few
days of every new job I ever had - if only because the experience was so
uniformly unpleasant. There was nothing I hated worse than starting a new job!
Everyone there knows everyone else except you - you don't know anyone!
Everyone except you knows where everything is; you have to ask. Everyone
except you knows exactly what their responsibilities are; you have to learn yours
(making plenty of mistakes along the way). You want to do good, but you don't
know how. You want to work hard, but you're not sure exactly what you're
required to do!

To me, that was the most uncomfortable feeling there could be - being in a
position of responsibility, but not knowing exactly what's required of you.
Maybe you've had the same experience. You know, some folks have that
problem with their religion. Sad to say, there are a lot of people who are
uncertain about just what God requires of them as Christians. Maybe you've felt
this from time to time: the nagging uncertainty of wondering whether God is
pleased or angry with you -- wondering whether you've done enough for God in
your life, or whether He expects much more from you than what you're
currently doing. Well, today you can solve that uncertainty, because our text for
this morning leaves no room for doubt. God's Word very clearly answers the
question that forms the theme of our message today:

WHAT DOES GOD REQUIRE OF ME?
I. That I DON'T try to pay for my own sins.
II. That I DO receive the salvation revealed in Jesus Christ.
III. That I DO show my faith with a life that reflects God's love.

Micah was a prophet to the people of Judah during the reign of King Ahaz. To
say the least, those were very dark days for God's chosen people. They had
completely turned away from the Lord, and were worshipping the idols of the
Canaanites, notably the false god, Baal. There were even many who were
making human sacrifices of their own children to an idol known as Molech.
Micah became a prophet of terror to them, warning them of the destruction that
would certainly come upon them if they didn't turn back to the Lord.

Well, some of the people listened. They realized their wickedness, and wanted
to get right with God again. But how to do it? They'd been away from the
worship of Jehovah for so long, they were uncertain what the true God required
of them. How should they live? What kind of sacrifices should they offer? What
gifts should they bring, so that the Lord would be pleased with them?

-It was the same question that sinners have asked throughout the ages: "What
must I do to be saved? Just exactly WHAT does God require of me?" And
Micah answered them in no uncertain terms -- first, by telling them what
wouldn't work. In the first place, he said, don't try to pay for your own sins!

The people were used to giving up their personal property in an effort to
appease their false gods. They sacrificed precious livestock, valuable grain and
oil products, in an effort to cover their own sin. Don't try that with the true
God, Micah said, it won't work! "With what shall I come before the Lord and
bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before Him with burnt
offering, with calves a year old?" No, Micah said, that's not enough to please
God. Well, what if we up the ante? "Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of
rams, or ten thousand rivers of oil?" Not even that would pay for your sins, said
Micah. Well, what about a human sacrifice? What if we gave our own children
to pay for our sins? "Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of
my body for the sin of my soul?"

No, said Micah, not even that would avail! There's simply nothing you yourself
can give that is valuable enough balance the account of sin against you. Don't
even try it. In Isaiah, the Lord says, "What is the multitude of your sacrifices to
Me? I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle. I do
not delight in the blood of bulls or of lambs or goats." Is 1:11.

You know, 99% of the people around us still don't understand that! So many
people – so many Christians! - still think that you have to do something to pay
for your own sins. If you can't pay for all of them, well, you should at least help
out by doing enough to pay for some of them. And that's where this awful
uncertainty comes in: "Have I done enough? How much does God expect me to
do? When I face God on Judgment Day, will I have done enough to go to
heaven?" – The Bible answers that question, and the answer is NO. No matter
what you do to try and please God, it won't be enough. God's Law requires a
perfect life, not just “an honest try.” When it comes t o our responsibility to
keep the Commandments, God requires a perfect bullseye every time.
Unfortunately, most of our shots aren't even on the target! The Apostle Paul
says, "By the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the
law is the knowledge of sin." Rom 3:20.

I remember one time, when I was driving through Chicago on the interstate; I
was flipping through the radio channels and I ended up listening to one of those
old-timey radio preachers. They're usually out in right field somewhere, but this
guy made some sense. He said, "You know, at almost every church I visit, they
ask me the same question: 'Do you love the Lord? Do you love the Lord?' But
that's not really the right question, is it? The real question is, "Does the Lord
love me?"

&n bsp; -It's true. God doesn't require a certain amount of love on your part for
salvation -- you could never give it. He doesn't require a certain number of good
works as payment for your sins -- it's a payment you could never make. No
matter how hard you try, you could never hope to supply your own salvation. It
just wouldn’t work. And the good news of the Gospel is that despite your
sinfulness, God has opened to you also the way of salvation. No, you didn't
love God -- but God loved you. So many times you have been faithless toward
God – but He has remained faithful toward you. At times in your life you may
have rebelled against God and turned away from God and given up on God –
but God never gave up on you. And since your good works could never get you
into heaven, God supplied a different way for you to be saved. What does God
require? -That you give up trying to pay for your own sins, and that you receive
the salvation revealed in Jesus Christ!

To the people of Judah's question, "What is good? How can we stand accepted
before God?" Micah answers, "The Lord has showed you, O man, what is
good." God has very clearly demonstrated what justice and mercy and goodness
is. He did it by giving His Son Jesus Christ for us!

Even the most hardened unbeliever has a conscience that tells him that God
requires punishment for sin. But - praise the Lord! - rather than require that
punishment from us, He required it from His innocent Son, Jesus. On a dark
Friday afternoon, on a desolate, skull-shaped hill outside Jerusalem, the terrible
punishment for all the sins of the world came crashing down upon Jesus Christ.
Hanging on that cursed tree, Jesus suffered all the torments of hell in your
place. He became your Substitute, paying the price of your sin for you. What a
thousand animal sacrifices couldn't do -- what ten thousand rivers of oil
couldn't do -- what no sacrifice on your part - however large - could ever do --
the precious blood of Jesus DID FOR YOU.

"He has showed you, O man, what is good." The Lord has shown what mercy
is, by having mercy on your soul. Because of Jesus' cross, your sins are gone.
Because of His perfect obedience to God, you stand fully accepted before God,
with the white robe of Christ's righteousness wrapped around your shoulders.
Jesus did it, and it's done. And that, as they say, is that!

One chapter later, Micah rejoices, "Who is a God like You, who pardons sin
and forgives the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance? You do not
stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion
on us; You will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the
depths of the sea." 7:18-19 . Do you realize what this means? -You don't have
to have any doubts or fears about what God requires of you - everything God
requires for your salvation has been fulfilled by Jesus Christ. What a relief! You
don't have to do anything. It's all been done for you. All that remains is to
receive this salvation by faith -- and don't worry, God gives you the faith as
well!

Oh, there is one more thing - God would appreciate a thank you. Micah
concludes, "And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love
mercy and to walk humbly with your God." In view of His great love for you,
God would like you to show your faith with a life that reflects His love. It's not
very much to ask!

It’s about the time of year when Publisher's20Clearing House gets their
sweepstakes in full swing. If you listen closely to their ads, you’ll notice that
there's a "condition" to the contest, and the condition is this: if you win, you
are required to let them use your name and photograph in future contests. Some
"condition"! If I won the ten million dollars, I'd say they could have all the
photographs they want! Well, God has publicly announced that, in Jesus Christ,
everyone one of you is a winner of eternal salvation. Not, “you may have won,”
but “you have won. It’s yours!” His only requirement is that you be grateful.
Some "requirement"!

The fact is that, for a believer who finds himself freed from sin and death
forever, works of faith just come naturally. How can you help rejoicing in your
Savior? Micah's "requirements", that you act justly, love mercy and walk
humbly with your God - these are all things that flow naturally from your faith.
It's like "requiring" you to be grateful when someone hands you a
thousand-dollar bill! How can you help but serve your Lord with a life that is
just and honest? After God has been so merciful to you, how can you help but
show mercy, and kindness, and forgiveness to t he people around you? After
Jesus humbled Himself even to death on the cross for you, how can you help
but to bury your pride, and walk humbly before the God who saved you? -You
can't. These are the natural fruits of your faith in Christ. And the closer you get
to Him, the more abundant will be the fruit. Jesus said, "I am the vine, you are
the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit." Jn 15:5.

For now, we await the Day when Jesus will receive us into the heavenly
paradise that He has earned for us. In the meantime though, let us – as God
strengthens us and enables us – let us allow our faith to shine in a life of service
to our Savior. And in the meantime don't let yourself be bothered with doubts
and fears about what God “requires” of you. For (praise be to God!) in Christ --
you've already met every requirement there is! AMEN.