Romans 6:12-23; John 18:37; 19:18b-16  6-29-08

                When Jesus was crucified, Pilate asked the people, “Shall I crucify your king?”  The people replied, “We have no king but Caesar.”  That was their last accusation before they led Jesus out to be crucified. Years later, Dr. Samuel Rutherford, a Scottish minister at the Westminster Assembly wrote some letters and in those letters he talked about there being no true sovereign except the Sovereign Lord.  He spoke vigorously against the monarchism of the day that talked of the “divine rights of kings.” One of his phrases that probably began with him is the phrase: “We have no king but Jesus.”

                Presbyterians especially have traditionally stood against the idea of one person having a tremendous amount or unlimited power- whether it be a bishop, a dictator, a pope, or a king.  It was said several times in the English Parliament during the American Revolution that the revolution was “a presbyterian rebellion” in part because of the rallying cry (and philosophy behind it), “we have no king but Jesus.”

                When Paul Revere made his famous ride in Massachusetts (4/18/1775), he stopped at the home of Reverend Jonas Clark, who was housing John Hancock, and Samuel Adams.  One of the objects of the British landing was to arrest these two.  Reverend Clark was also captain of the local militia.  The next morning in Lexington Massachusetts the British captain asked the Minutemen to "Disperse, ye villains, lay down your arms in the name of George the Sovereign King of England." The immediate response of Rev. Jonas Clarke [or one of his company] was: "We recognize no Sovereign but God and no King but Jesus."  The minutemen who fell that day were all members of Reverend Clark’s church.  Many Presbyterian churches in South Carolina were burned down, including ones in Kingstree,  Indiantown and Edisto as these churches were seen as gathering places for patriots who recognized  no king but Jesus.
                I do not believe that most or even any of the Presbyterians of that day equated our country with the kingdom of God.  However, I do believe that most Presbyterians of that day had a very very deep sense that God was sovereign and his kingship sure, and they were not afraid to let that belief affect their actions.  Their belief in the kingship and lordship of Christ was very important to them.  Today it is clear that America is a post-Christian nation.  Those who mention that America might even be better off if it followed Christian teaching are vilified as not caring for those who think differently.   My main concern is not the political direction of America.  My main concern is that we in the church be able to take seriously the idea that Christ is our only true sovereign and king.  Paul’s point in our passage is that we must choose to either have Jesus as king or sin as king.  To choose another king or God than Jesus is to make a bad and deathly choice.
                I. WE HAVE A CHOICE- The choice is between two ways to go- each has its implications, its rewards, its focus.  One is the way of sin, the other is the way of grace.  One is the way of evil, the other the way of righteousness and good.  One is the way of life, the other is the way of death.  When the hurricane is coming, you can choose to go to a safe place or you can choose to stay in your easy chair watching TV (or multiple unsafe places).  The surgeon says you can stay as you are and your cancer will eat you up, or you can choose to undergo surgery.  The choice is yours. I remember once going to Atlanta to try to see a Braves game.  We stayed in a hotel on the outside of town near the metro.  We got to the metro, and one train was going one direction away from  town.  If we got on it we would probably miss the game.  If we got on the other train we would get to the area where the game was to be played.  There were hundreds of people.  We were running late and didn’t have time for directions, and people were in too much of a hurry to ask which one should we go on.  We had to make a choice.  In the end, I followed a group who had  Braves shirts and has on and we got to the stadium in time.  Paul says you have a choice, you must make it.  You can be a slave to sin or a servant of God.  Bob Dylan had a song once that said, “You’ve got to serve somebody.  It may be the devil, it may be the Lord but you got to serve somebody.”  We have a presidential election coming up. People have to make a choice.  You may decide not to vote, or you may vote for a third party, but one of these two will get elected.  They are trying hard to distinguish themselves from each other.  But compared to the choice Paul presents they are indistinguishable.  The choice Paul presents will affect us far more than the choice we make for president. We must choose who we want to be our Lord- sin or grace, sin or God. There are two kings who want your allegiance. Who will you serve? 
                I. EACH HAS DIFFERENT WAGES- The Bible says the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ (23).
ONE KING OFFERS A SHINY WAGE THAT IS WORTH LITTLE- When I was in Mexico they had some very shiny, very pretty coins.  But these coins were worth practically nothing compared to my dollar.  The wage that one king offers is very shiny, very temporary, but in the end it will buy nothing important, nothing eternal.  We do not trade our money because it looks good, we look hard at the value of it.  Can we not look hard at the value of the wage that sin offers versus the ways of God?  I think of the Disney movie Snow White.  The queen offers Snow White a poisonous apple.  It looks great- it is shiny, but it is the wage of death.  God’s wage may not be quite so shiny, but we must trust in its worth.  Eternal life is really not a wage that we earn- it is as verse 23 says a gift from God.  Eternal life means we do not need to fear death or temporary powers or temporary problems.  Life and death on this earth are temporary things. 

II. EACH REIGNS IN DIFFERENT WAYS
A) SIN REIGNS OVER US- If we do not choose to escape from sin, sin will reign over us.  Human beings, I believe have a tendency to addiction.  We can be addicted to drugs, to alcohol, to gambling, to pornography, to lying, to stealing.  But we can also be addicted to pride, to selfishness, to hate.  We can also be addicted to things that seem good but become our God- our king.  It may be our work, it may be consumed with being in good shape, it may be education, it may even be our family. If you choose another God besides the Lord, that God will reign over you in an addictive way.  Paul says we become slaves to it.  Ask a drug addict if he or she is not a slave to their drug.  Is something possessing you?  It could even be the TV or internet or sports.  We have a tendency toward addiction and a tendency toward idolatry. 
B) GOD REIGNS OVER US- The alternative is not just to stop an addiction to something bad, but let God control us.  When we pledge ourselves to the King of kings, it not only keeps us from addiction in another realm, there are also benefits to this.  These are benefits you will not hear about from the media until someone dies.  I was amazed  at some of the things said about Tim Russert after he died.  You would not have known that his faith was important to him from most of  his interviews.   The media and the government tries to give the illusion that faith doesn’t matter until the time of death, and then it matters tremendously.  But God wants to reign over us now.  Eternal life does not begin after you die, it begins the day you let Jesus be your King and your Lord.   Jesus said he came to give us life and that abundantly. The reign of Jesus gives us perspective and hope in the midst of suffering and death.  The way of God gives us the ability to forgive to turn the other cheek, to escape our addictions, to follow Him.  A way of escape has been shown to us, offered to us, but we must take it or we will be smothered
                There was a survey broadcast on NBC news about faith last week.  It said that over 93% of Americans believe in God, but that a majority of even church people said that it didn’t matter what you believe.  I want to encourage you to hear what Paul says.  It matters.  Do not let any other thing, person, habit, religion be your King but Jesus.  In 1999 former US Senator John Ashcroft and later attorney general spoke in South Carolina.  He said this, “There is a difference between a culture that has no king but Caesar, no standard but the civil authority, and a culture that has no king but Jesus, no standard but the eternal authority.  When you have no king but Caesar, you release Barabbas- criminality, destruction, thievery, the lowest and the least.  When you have no king but Jesus, you release the eternal, you release the highest and the best, you release virtue, you release potential.” 
                I have heard and seen some of the hype leading up to the Olympics-8-8-08.  One of my favorite stories is the story of Eric Liddel who was a Scottish Presbyterian.  He was favored to win the gold medal in the 100 meters.  But the race was on a Sunday and he refused to run on the Sabbath.  Some people called him a traitor for not running.  The Prince of Wales even begged him to run and put king and country first as a sacrifice.  Liddel’s reply was, “God made countries, God made kings, and the rules by which they are governed.”  Liddell ran instead in the 400 meters.  Before the race an American gave him a piece of paper with a verse from I Samuel said, “Those who honor me I will honor.”  Liddell won the 400- in fact he broke the world record. His belief in the King was honored by the King of kings.  I invite you also to have no king but Jesus.  Amen.