Church Sermon - February 13, 2005

Rev. Bernt P. Tweit

Old Testament Lesson; Genesis 2:7-3:7
Gospel Lesson; Matthew 4:1-11
Sermon Text; Romans 5:12-19

"Houston, we’ve had a problem here." So began a conversation, almost 35 years ago this April. That conversation originated in the Apollo 13 spacecraft. They certainly did have a problem. The problem was this: oxygen tank number two had exploded, which caused oxygen tank number one also to fail, which led to two out of three fuel cells being emptied, which led to a gas oxygen mixture to vent into outer space! Those three astronauts on board Apollo 13 certainly had a problem.

What was the solution to the problem that they had? Well, there were many hundreds of people in Houston, at Mission Control, who quickly went into action, and went to work. They first of all figured out a filter system that filtered the carbon dioxide out of the air, so that those astronauts would not die from their own breathing. But, the greatest solution was this. Two hours after they rounded the far side of the moon, they were to turn on their engines for a five-minute burn, so they would have a proper trajectory, back toward earth. It was very critical, because if they started those engines too soon, or if they started those engines too late, they would have missed the earth completely and they would have died in outer space.

As they were rounding the moon and beginning to fire up those engines, they needed to align themselves properly. They were told to align themselves with a star. But, because of the explosion that had taken place, the sun was glaring off of their spacecraft, so they could not pick any stars. That is when somebody at Mission Control had this wonderful idea. Align yourself with the sun. Pick a corner of the sun and align yourself with that. And, lo and behold their alignment was perfect!

Within an hour (we know the rest of the story) they landed safely in the Pacific Ocean, where they were rescued. Those three astronauts had a problem, didn’t they? But, a solution was given, and they were saved!

Holy Cross, we have a problem. Today it is we, who have a problem. The problem we have is sin. The problem we have is sin, given to us by Adam. This morning I call that a malady. A malady simply is a disease that we have in our body. That is our problem. That is our malady.

As we look in our text for today, in verses 12 and 14, we see what that malady is. In verse 12 Paul says, "death came to all men." In verse 14 Paul says, "Death reigns".

"Just as sin entered the world

through one man,

and death through sin,

in this way death came to all men,

because all sinned."

Romans 5:12

I consider that event, in our Old Testament Lesson for today, Genesis 3:6, to be the greatest disaster that has ever happened in the history of the world. The greatest disaster in the history of the world was the fall into sin, by Adam. He disobeyed God. He listened to the temptation of the devil. And, because of that one act of sin, it not only affected himself, but it affected the world, and it affected the billions of people who have lived ever since. I think sometimes we fail to remember all of the consequences that happen, just because of that one act, in the Garden of Eden.

Let’s bring that one act into a modern day concept. Let’s say you were to be hosting a party. All of your friends and family were to be at that party. That party composed the population of the whole world. At that party you receive a package. On the outside of that package it says, "Anthrax. Do not open." However, you choose to open that package, anyway. That Anthrax becomes airborne. It goes into the whole room. You are infected by it. All of your family is infected by it. And, all of your friends are infected by it.

Really, that is what Adam did. He opened a package that he should not have opened. That infected him. That infected the world. And that infected everybody who has ever lived.

This morning, let us take a test, to see if we have been infected by the sin of Adam. I will just ask three very simple questions.

If we are all honest, in answering those questions, we answered them "yes". We see that the sin of Adam has infected us. That infection of sin has come to us, as well. That sin of Adam is going to lead to our physical death. But our physical death should be the least of our concerns. As we look at verse 18 in our text, we see the Apostle Paul saying, "The result of one trespass (or the result of one sin) was condemnation for all men."

Again, our physical death is the least of our concerns, because Paul says one sin leads to condemnation. When the Bible talks about condemnation, it is talking about Hell. Hell is eternal separation from God. That is our problem. That is our malady. The disease that we have in our body, because of sin, which leads to death, also leads us to condemnation, eternal separation from God.

What is the solution for the problem of our sin? Or, as I have stated in our bulletin, ‘What is the remedy that we have to the malady of our sin?’ The remedy is God. God has intervened. God has come to us. God has sent His Son, Jesus, into the world. It is in our Gospel Lesson, for today that we see Jesus overcoming that great disaster that happened in the Garden of Eden. In our Gospel Lesson for today, we see Jesus being tempted by the devil, for forty days and forty nights, as He began His earthly ministry. Each time the devil came to Jesus tempting Him, taking scripture and twisting it, trying to get Jesus to fall into sin, Jesus resisted.

Remember that room of Anthrax that I talked about, just a few minutes ago? That is the problem we have. That sin of Adam has infected all of us, so that we are all going to die. But again, God has intervened, by sending Jesus to us. It is as if Jesus was standing in that room, as that Anthrax was opened up. He inhaled every last bit of the Anthrax particles unto Himself, so that it would not infect us, so that it would not infect our families, so that it would not infect our friends. Jesus was willing to take that all unto Himself, as He took all of our sins upon Himself, went to the cross, freely and graciously for us, as He was willing to be our substitute, to live a perfect life that we could not live. That is how God intervened, with the remedy to the malady of our sin.

How comforting verse 18 in our text should be for us as it lays out that malady, but as it also concludes with this remedy. Just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life to men! Through our Savior, Jesus, God has declared us to be not guilty of our sin, through Jesus’ act of obedience, and through His death on the cross.

"Houston, we’ve had a problem here." That is what those three astronauts said, from Apollo 13, as oxygen tank number 2 exploded, and caused many problems for them. But, the solution was as they rounded the moon, to align themselves with the sun, so they could be on a proper and correct trajectory toward earth.

Holy Cross, we have a problem. That problem is our sin. That is our malady, the disease of our body. Well, thanks be to God for the remedy that He has given to us. He has given to us the remedy of the Son, S O N. Scripture says to align yourself with Him, so you can have a proper trajectory toward eternal life in Heaven.

Today that is our prayer, as it should be every day of our life. Pray that God will strengthen us in our faith, so that through Jesus we can overcome the temptations of the devil, and through faith in Jesus, as our Savior, through God’s Son, we have that remedy that overcomes the malady of our sin, so that we may have eternal life in Heaven with Him, for all eternity!

Amen.

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