Lent 1, 2007 

Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Romans 10:8b-13 Luke 4:1-13

 

The Good Confession

What would you say to someone who asked:  ‘What do you believe?’Some of us might be too embarrassed to say.  Others may give a simple statement, sort of like Paul’s in our passage from Romans today.  I doubt many of us would recite the Nicene, Apostolic or Athanasian Creeds from memory for the benefit of the enquirer, especially since the person might not be ready to deal with the finer points of incarnational theology, let alone the atonement, pneumatology and ecclesiology.  Perhaps it’s not an entirely bad idea to start with the first clause of the Apostles or Nicene Creeds on the necessity of a Creator God.  But most of us would start with what’s simple and personal.  If we started somewhere, that is.You could look at our three passages of Scripture, today, as creedal statements from different parts of the Bible.  An ancient OT, Israelite Creed.  Paul’s creed.  And Jesus’ own statement of his beliefs in condensed form.Deuteronomy 26:1-11 on ‘first fruits’.  (Cf 12-end, on the ‘T’ word, not discussed in polite company among churchgoers.  The T word is ‘TITHE’ but most of us do not want to talk about it or hear about it!)‘First Fruits’ – note, not last fruits, spare leftovers, what remains after you’ve used up all the best bits you like.  But the first fruits.This giving of first fruits in particular was a one-off ritual to be preformed by the Israelites when they entered into the Promised Land.  And the statement of faith that we find in verses 3-10 is an summary of all that the Israelites were thankful for.Thanksgiving.  That is what they were doing.  Like the Puritan Pilgrims in North America, who had fled religious oppression in Europe, the Israelites felt called to give thanks upon their arrival in the Promised Land.The Israelites’ Thanksgiving is only a reflection of God’s generosity that they recognized.  ‘Natan’, Hebrew word for ‘giving’ is used in verses 1, 2, 3, 9, & 10.  And in those verses, God is doing all the giving.The Israelites giving their best to God is what they regard as a natural, grateful response to all that God has so wonderfully done for them.  God has blessed us so much.  What can we give him?  Our best.  When we give back to God, we show that we are grateful.  We show that He is God.  And we are blessed by admitting that He is God and we and our money and other things are not.Romans 10:8b-13: Paul’s simple confession The language Paul uses to describe his faith is perhaps a little closer to what a Christian might say if asked.  It is simple and to the point:  ‘if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.’  Jesus is Lord, and God raised him from the dead.  You could add, ‘He offered his life in place of mine; he died for my sins.’Paul uses the word ‘confession.’  Outside of church, in the secular world, we most frequently associate confessions with the things that police usually get out of criminals.  If a criminal confesses, he admits his guilt, but may as a result, get a lighter sentence.  Inside church, we frequently associate ‘confession’ with an apology to God for our sins, which, we assured, God mercifully forgives.  Paul’s confession of faith does imply that we are not God, and that Jesus is Lord, and that Jesus died (for us) and was raised.  So we have to admit that God is greater than we are, which is hard to swallow, but also that we have done enough wrong that one Godly man decided to die for us.  So Paul’s confession includes a confession of guilt and need.But the wonderful part is that in making this confession, Paul believes we will be saved.  God alone can save, we believe, but if we confess that he can, then we invite Him to save us, and He will.  Frighteningly simple, isn’t it, but by no means easy, either.  But is the most wonderful thing to confess in this way.Luke 4:1-13: Jesus makes the ‘good confession’ at his first temptation Temptation of Jesus in Luke (cf Matt 4:1-11 & Mark 1:12-13).  Note bene: 
Jesus’ confession extracted under duress.  The devil is torturing him.  Yet Jesus gives us the example of how to resist ‘the world, the flesh, and the devil’.  How: His faith, though tested, is not undermined because it is not misplaced.  Jesus knows what he believes and why, and can point to support from Scripture, which is there to encourage us, too.The 3 temptations:

1. Testing Jesus’ divinity.  Turn stone into bread.  Use His divine power selfishly.  Jesus quotes
2. Deut 8:3: “One does not live by bread alone.”
3. Testing Jesus’ understanding of authority.  Have all these worldly kingdoms, from me (Devil).  Jesus is being challenged as to who he thinks is ultimately in charge: a) Satan, b) Jesus or c)
4. God.  Jesus chooses c.  So he quotes Deut 6:13: “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.”
5. Testing Jesus’ reliance on God’s word, expressed in Scripture.  This is a dangerous and subtle temptation, for Jesus as it is for us believers.  Satan had cleverly picked up on Jesus use of Scripture to resist the 1st 2 temptations.  So Satan quotes Scripture.  (Fyall: Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice: ‘The devil can cite scripture for his purpose’)  Satan quotes
6. Psalm 91:11-12.  But Jesus knows that God’s word is bigger than our limited undertanding
7. of it.  He perfectly embodies God’s word.  (John 1)  Jesus can see nothing in God’s word that could possibly justify Jesus committing suicide just to make some public display.  So Jesus quotes Deut 6:16 back:  “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”

Satan retires.  Verse 13 suggests he’d be back for another test later.  This was but the beginning. But Jesus showed where the strength of his faith came from: fully relying on God and understanding his Word.  Such faith can never be confounded.  May we, with thankful hearts, confess such a faith, and our need for it, this Lent.  Amen

 

.Any questions?  Contact: The Chaplain, Revd Sam Van Leer, 026 495 0620