“Faith and Action”

Finding Value (Part 2)

March 20, 2011

Genesis 12:1-4a John 3:1-17 Romans 4:1-5, 13-17

In our house, each school night between 9:00 and 9:30 pm, our family repeats a regular ritual. About
this time, Patti and I encourage our children to head upstairs and prepare for bed so that they will be
well rested for school when I awaken them at 6:30 the next morning. Ideally, what would happen is
that we remind them of the time and our children happily head upstairs to find their pajamas and to
perform their other evening rituals. In reality however, what often happens is that Patti or I will
announce the time… and nothing happens at all. Often there is no reaction whatsoever. Patti and I
will sometimes look at each other to assure ourselves that when our mouths moved, that sound
actually did come out, pass through the air and make audible noises on the other side of the room.
After a few moments have passed, we will often make this announcement more firmly using stronger
tone of voice and delivered at a higher volume. This time our children will flinch or perhaps take a
step or two in the direction of the stairs, but still, this is often not enough to get all three of them
moving. Ultimately, our tone gets still firmer, our voices still louder and a hint of parental threat is
sometimes added before everyone does as they have been asked. In each case, clearly our children
have heard our voices but something fell short between their ears and their brains. This is not a new
idea. Many of you have had the same experience and some time ago I heard a similar story from my
Hebrew professor as well. What stood out is in his telling of the story is that there are three phases.
The command was heard, there was recognition of the command, and finally there was obedience to
the command. In ancient Israel (and in Israel today) you would have heard this…

Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Eḥad

This comes to us from Deuteronomy 6:3. In English we would say, “Hear, O Israel: the Lord is our
God, the Lord is One.” This is one of the great prayers of the people of Israel and is often prayed
several times each day. In fact, this is the prayer that faithful believers would historically tie onto
their wrists and foreheads during Jewish holy days. This is the beginning of the prayer that even
now, is called the Shema. This is significant because the Hebrew word “Shema,” which we translate
as meaning “hear,” does not only mean “hear” but literally means, “hear, listen, and do.”

In Genesis 12:1-4a, we hear God calling to Abram…

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The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to
the land I will show you.
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“I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
3
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;

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and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
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So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years
old when he set out from Harran.

First and foremost we notice that Abram was listening and heard something when God called to him.
Beyond that, we also notice that hearing wasn’t the only thing that Abram did. Abram heard from
God, he listened to God’s voice, he trusted in God’s nature, and he did what God asked him to do.
Obviously, we aren’t the first to notice this, but how Abram responded to the call of God has
sometimes been misinterpreted. The people of Israel sometimes took Abram’s response to God to
mean that Abram was loved by God and rewarded by God because of his good works - because of the
action that he took. The apostle Paul dismantles this mistaken belief in his letter to the church in
Rome. (Romans 4:1-5, 13-17)
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What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this
matter? 2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not
before God. 3 What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as
righteousness.”
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Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. 5 However, to the
one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as
righteousness.
13
It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be
heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. 14 For if those who depend on the
law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is worthless, 15 because the law brings wrath. And
where there is no law there is no transgression.
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Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all
Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of
Abraham. He is the father of us all. 17 As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.”
He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and
calls into being things that were not.

The Pharisees and many of the faithful people of Israel saw Abram’s salvation as something that
grew out of his obedience to God but Paul points to a different part of the process. Yes, Paul agrees
that Abram’s obedience was important, but before there was obedience, there had to be something
else, the thing that allowed him to be obedient was his faith and trust in God. Paul reminds all of us
that our relationship with God is not something that is built on simply following a set of rules and
guidelines. Our salvation, our rescue, is not based upon works (the things that we do), but is instead
based entirely upon the condition of our heart. We often use the Pharisees as an example of people
who had it all wrong. It was the Pharisees who were often at odds with Jesus and who were often
seen plotting to trick, trap or kill Jesus, but not all of them can be lumped together so easily. Faith is,
after all, a matter of the heart. In John 3:1-17, we hear this familiar story…

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Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling
council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come
from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
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Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born
again.”
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“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a
second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
5
Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of
water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be
surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its
sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the
Spirit.”
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“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
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“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I
tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not
accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will
you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who
came from heaven—the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the
Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
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For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall
not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but to save the world through him.

Nicodemus is a Pharisee and a member of the Jewish ruling council. By both measures this is a man
whom we would have expected to be hostile to both Jesus and his message. From all the stories that
we often tell of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, this is a guy whom we would immediately suspect
of being involved in some kind of malicious plot as he comes to Jesus at night. When we read this
story and as many of us have heard pastors preach about it, much is often made about Nicodemus
coming to see Jesus at night. We have heard that perhaps his intentions were not good or that he was
embarrassed that he might be seen by his peers and while these are indeed possible, there is also
another possibility as well.

In the time of Jesus, long before the era of artificial lighting, it was customary to work during the day
and use the evening hours of darkness as the time for serious conversation. While it is possible that
Nicodemus was using the darkness to hide his visit from others, it is also possible that by coming at
night he was signaling his openness to having a deep and meaningful conversation about a serious
subject. One way that we can better understand the true motivation behind Nicodemus’ visit is to
also examine what else we know of Nicodemus and his relationship with Jesus and one place that we
find that is in John 19 where we find Nicodemus donating 75 pounds of burial herbs and spices and
oils after Jesus’ death on the cross. From that alone, it appears that by the time of Jesus’ death,
Nicodemus had become a believer and a follower of Jesus. As I look at it, the evidence indicates that
Nicodemus was not trying to trick or trap Jesus. Instead his motivation for visiting Jesus at night
appears to have been genuine. It appears that as Nicodemus visited Jesus he was genuinely trying to
understand.

As we look at this story we have come full circle. Nicodemus has come (or is coming) to faith in
Jesus Christ. His heart appears to be in the right place. What we also notice is that faith comes first.

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The rescue, redemption and salvation of Nicodemus come when he trusts God and has faith in Jesus
but we have no way of knowing when that happened. We have no way of knowing the condition of
the heart of Nicodemus or anyone else. What we see, however, is the effect that faith has on the life
of Nicodemus. When we see Nicodemus helping to bury Jesus after his death on the cross we know
that something must have happened. Works, action, those things that we do, are not the things that
save us but grow out of our faith and reveal our faith to the world. Faith must always come first, but
who we are (and whose we are) is revealed through our actions.

Each day, God is calling to each of us just as he called to Abram long ago but we cannot allow
ourselves to let things end there or we will be just like my children preparing for bed on a school
night. Like Abram, we must not only hear from God but we must also listen to his voice, trust in
God’s nature and we must do what God asks us to do.

Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Eḥad

Hear, O Israel: the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.

Like the people of Israel we too must answer God’s call but like them we must remember that
“Shema” does not only mean “hear” but literally means, “hear, listen, and do.”

Like Nicodemus…

…here, we find value.

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You have been reading a message presented at Barnesville First United Methodist Church on the
date noted at the top of the first page. Rev. John Partridge is the pastor of Barnesville First.
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