The Bible Top 40
Romans 6:12-13
[Scene from Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi, when Luke refuses to give himself over to “the Dark Side of the Force.”]
In the Star Wars series of films, Luke Skywalker is constantly being pressured and tempted to give in to the evil forces that long to have him. His father, Anikan Skywalker, had given in years before, and become the evil Darth Vayder, and he along with the emperor, and all the powers of the “dark side” are zeroed in on this young man. They desperately want him to join them in their evil plans. But in the climactic scene we have just viewed, Skywalker refuses to be ruled by evil, and is willing to face even death rather than betray what he knows is right.
It is a classic story – good versus evil. And while it is set in the farthest reaches of the galaxy, the product of George Lucas’ imagination, the basic content of the battle for control of our body and minds comes right from the Bible.
Today our study of the Top 40 passages of the Bible takes us to the book of Romans. We are going to look at two verses from the sixth chapter of Paul’s letter to the believers in Rome. This is one of those times when I could have chosen this entire chapter as a “top 40” passage. When I was in college, my professor of theology had us right a commentary of Romans chapters 6,7 & 8, because he felt they were perhaps the most important passages of Scripture. In fact, I would like to read all of chapter 6 as background for our study of verses 12 and 13 for you this morning, because it is critical to our understanding of what is contained here. Please follow along on the screen, or in your Bibles as I read:
Paul begins by addressing a twisted piece of theological logic that was popular in the early church, and has in a disguised form lingered until today. The logic went this way: “Since God’s grace is always greater than sin, why not keep on sinning so that God’s grace will continue to grow?” There have always been people who have taken this amazing liberty with God’s grace. They say, “I’ve been saved by God’s grace, not by my own good works, so I don’t have to worry about my good or bad deeds.” One of the more famous examples of this is the Russian monk Gregory Rasputin – you have probably heard of Rasputin – he was a monk in Russia who had great influence with the family of the Czar in the late 19th Century. Rasputin was a notorious drinker and womanizer, and he believed that those who sin with abandon enjoy, each time they repent, more of God’s forgiving grace than an ordinary sinner.
Oookaaayy!!!