Spitting in Sin's Face

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Here’s a sermon from a few years ago on Sunday’s lectionary epistle reading from Romans 6.

The podcast posse and I have a collection of sermons on Romans. Check it out.

“Whoever has died with Christ [through baptism] is free from sin.”    

Speaking of death—

A year ago this week, I woke up from abdominal surgery to a doctor telling me I had something called Mantle Cell Lymphoma, this incredibly rare, aggressive cancer with long odds for a happy ending. I don’t want to be melodramatic about it, but I thought I was going to die.When I realized I wasn’t going to die, when I got my bone marrow results back a few weeks ago, and I realized the inevitable wasn’t yet, I was so freaking grateful.

Bowled over with gratitude. To God.

I felt so thankful that I promised a vow to God. I swore an oath to God. For the gift of my life, I would offer the gift of my faithfulness. It’s true. I stared at myself in the mirror at my oncologist’s mens room right after I received my results. I splashed water on my face to make sure I wasn’t daydreaming. I stared at myself in the mirror and I swore, from here on out, I would be a perfect Christian.No more snark or sarcasm. No more dark cynicism. No more cussing or anger. No more can’t be bothered apathy or little white lies.

God had rescued me from literal death.

So I promised to the mens room mirror, “I will never sin again.”

And I meant it. I was doing a pretty job with it until I walked out of the bathroom and over to the elevator.

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