August 10, 2016 – Devotions: passages from David and Goliath
The Classic Inverted-U

“Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. For just 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. But law came in, with the result that the trespass multiplied; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, just as sin exercised dominion in death, so grace might also exercise dominion through justification leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it?” Romans 5:18-21, 6:1-2

“A classic inverted-U curve can be seen in the relationship between alcohol consumption and health. If you go from not drinking at all to drinking one glass of wine a week, you’ll live longer. And if you drink two glasses a week, you’ll live a little bit longer, and three glasses a little bit longer–all the way up to about seven glasses a week (These numbers are for men, not women). That’s the up slope: the more, the merrier. Then there is the stretch from, say, seven to fourteen glasses of wine a week. You’re not helping yourself by drinking more in that range. But you’re not particularly hurting yourself either. That’s the middle part of the curve. Finally there is the right side of the curve: the down slope. That’s when you get past fourteen glasses of wine a week and drinking more starts to leave you with a shorter life. Alcohol is not inherently good or bad or neutral. It starts out good, becomes neutral, and ends up bad.” (David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwell, p. 54, footnote) 

The classic inverted-U curve is one way to look at a situation as you assess its effectiveness. The above example is most instructive. And, most of us know it to be true. A little of anything can be good – too much of the same thing can be harmful, if not dangerous. Can we say the same about sin? Can we? Is a little sin ok, but too much sin harmful if not dangerous? Didn’t Luther say something like “If you are going to sin, sin boldly?” This is what he said: “God does not save those who are only imaginary sinners. Be a sinner, and let your sins be strong (sin boldly), but let your trust in Christ be stronger, and rejoice in Christ who is the victor over sin, death, and the world.” What on earth could he have meant by that?

Luther often used hyperbole (exaggerated statements) to make his point. Is he saying, like many Christians believe today, that the Cross covers continued, willful sin – even if we decide not to change our lives? No, he is not. He also said elsewhere: “If you do not give forth…proofs of faith [good works], it is certain that your faith is not right…for where faith in the heart is right, there is no need of much commanding good works to be done; they follow of themselves. But the works of love are only an evidence of the existence of faith.” Although Luther stressed that we are saved by faith alone, faith by its very nature produces good works. The idea that a person can be saved while continuing on exactly like before is a dangerous misunderstanding of both the Apostle Paul and Luther. Imagine this scenario: let’s say that Satan suddenly comes after me and brings to the surface something that had been in my heart all along. When I’m still down, he says: “Look at you. What a disgrace! And you call yourself a Christian!” It is at that moment that I can shout to Satan saying something like “Yes I am a sinner, and thank you for reminding me that I am a sinner, and yes sometimes I fool myself into thinking I am above sin. But you remind me of my true nature and then I remember the cross: it is what I will cling to, the cross is where I will fall and clutch onto and hold on tightly for it is sufficient for all my sins.”

It is here that the inverted-U comes into play – a little sin is what we all do because we are by nature sinful and unclean. But if we willfully sin thinking “I am saved”, then we pass onto the other side of the “U Curve” where sin, and Satan, looks to destroy us. G-d’s grace is sufficient for me, G-d’s word reminds me of grace, and Jesus calls us to “go and sin no more.” The cross of Jesus gives me not just forgiveness but victory over sin as well.

Pastor Dave