REMEMBER JESUS CHRIST
On April 21st, 1836, a former U.S. Congressman named Sam Houston led a group of 910 Texas patriots against the Mexican army of Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. And as they charged forward on that early spring morning, this band of American nationalists echoed the speech their leader had passionately given to them two days before as they shouted, “Remember Goliad! Remember the Alamo!” That phrase, “Remember the Alamo,” was an inspiration to those men. It was a tribute to 187 of their fellow Americans who had stood up against Santa Anna and 5000 of his soldiers at the Alamo just over a month before. And so with the bravery and the courage and the massacre of their fallen comrades fresh in their minds, these men under Sam Houston surprised the Mexican troops in San Jacinto and the battle for the independence of Texas was over in just 18 short minutes.
Since that day the phrase, “Remember the Alamo” has been used, both in seriousness and in jest, to make the point that what has happened in the past should motivate us and give us courage for what is to come in the future. It is a call not to forget, but it is also an invitation to forge ahead with confidence because of what someone else has sacrificed on your behalf.
The apostle Paul made this same kind of speech to a young fellow pastor named Timothy; and Timothy undoubtedly carried Paul’s words with him and called them to mind in the thick of the battle as Sam Houston’s soldiers carried his words with them on the battlefield in 1836. But what Paul wrote to Timothy, although similar to Sam Houston’s message, was much more important and much more profound. He encouraged Timothy to remember what Jesus had sacrificed on his behalf so that he could take courage for what was to come in the future.
“Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God's word is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.”
Do you see the similarity between Paul’s words and Sam Houston’s rallying cry? “Remember the Alamo! Remember what they did there; remember what they sacrificed there. Remember what you’re fighting for.” Remember Jesus Christ. Remember what he did there; remember what he sacrificed there; remember how he rose from there; remember what he fought for. Paul wanted Timothy and every Christian with him and every Christian after him to remember Jesus Christ. Because he can be our only motivation to march ahead tomorrow. He can be our only comfort in times of sorrow. He can be our only source of peace in the middle of a fierce battle with the sinful and devilish forces of this world. We have to keep going back to and relying on and living for the one who was “raised from the dead” (which means he’s true God), the one who was “descended from David” (which means he was also a true human being). Our lives should be built upon honoring and praising the memory and name of our Savior because of everything that he has done for us.
I don’t think that most of us in this room have much of a problem remembering Jesus, do we? We know who he is, we are aware of what he has done, we could recall many of the stories about Jesus from memory if we really needed to. But knowing the facts about Jesus is not what Paul meant when he said, “Remember Jesus Christ” - just as Sam Houston didn’t intend for his soldiers to merely recall how to get to a spot on a map when he told them to “Remember the Alamo.” Houston wanted his men to use what happened at the Alamo to motivate what they were going to do and how they were going to do it. Paul wants us to use what happened to Jesus on the cross and what Jesus did out of that tomb to motivate what we are going to do and how we are going to do it. Remembering Jesus is not just an intellectual exercise; it’s the ability to apply what happened on that cross 2000 years ago to every aspect of your life in every way. And there are many ways that can happen because there are many different responsibilities and positions we have been placed in throughout this life.
For example, I have been given the responsibility to be a father to three children. And if were to evaluate my performance as a father by comparing it to how many times I’ve remembered Jesus Christ and have applied it to my life, then what a miserable father I have been. What terrible mistakes I have made. What unloving words I have said. If I had truly remembered Jesus Christ and what he has done for me at all times and in every situation, my performance as a father wouldn’t have been nearly as miserable. I have also been given the responsibility to be a husband. And what a sub-standard husband I have been. What selfish things I have done. What mean things I have thought. If I had truly remembered Jesus Christ and what he has done for me at all times and in every situation, my actions as a husband wouldn’t have been nearly as poor. I have been given the responsibility to be a brother, a son, a friend, a citizen, a co-worker. And I haven’t fared much better in those roles either. I have been given the responsibility to be a pastor as Timothy was. But instead of being dependable sometimes I have been lazy. Instead of being caring sometimes I have been cruel. Instead of being faithful sometimes I have been faithless. I have not kept Jesus Christ in the forefront of my mind to motivate my every action and my ever word and my every thought - and I have dishonored my God by doing so. There is not one area or station or position in this life in which I have remembered my Savior as I ought.
Have you? I don’t know the inner workings of your life. I haven’t been around to see your every action or hear your every word. And even if I had been, I wouldn’t be able to read your thoughts or figure out your motivations. But just like I have been, you’ve been given different responsibilities and roles in this life in which to apply what Christ has done. You have been given the responsibility to be husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, employers and employees, citizens and leaders, parents and children, friends and neighbors… Have you remembered Jesus Christ in every aspect of your life? Has he always been your motivation? Has he always been the reason and the purpose and the motive for everything you do in every way? Or have there been times when you were completely selfish and unloving? Have there been times when you were faithless in the way you carried out the role your God put you in?
The apostle Paul understood that Timothy, his young fellow coworker, would come to realize his own failures as well. Paul knew from experience that Timothy would find himself unable to perform the duties of his office and incapable of carrying out the responsibilities of every other role that the Lord had given him as a father and a husband and a citizen and leader. And so in order to pick him up from his failings, in order to soothe his conscience from the stress of sin, Paul shares with him a comforting truth about his Lord that he also shares with us: “Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.”
“If we are faithless, he will remain faithful.” Whenever and however we are faithless, our God will actually remain faithful to us! And that should surprise you a little bit because that simple doesn’t happen here! If you let someone down often enough, that person will stop trusting you with anything. If you stab your friend in the back often enough, that friend will stop being your friend. If you ostracize your family members often enough, they will start to have nothing to do with you. There comes a point when a person will no longer put up with someone else if they hurt and harm them enough. But no matter how many times we prove ourselves to be faithless Christians in the way we live our lives, Christ will always prove himself to be faithful. He will never turn his back on us. He will never get so frustrated with us that he would leave us alone. He will never get so angry with us that he would shove us away. He will keep reaching out to us; he will keep turning us back; he will keep loving and caring for and patiently nurturing us regardless of how many times we have forgotten about him. Our God is faithful. Our God is trustworthy. Our God is loyal to us!
Normally we think of a dog being loyal to its owner or a citizen being loyal to his country or a husband being loyal to his wife. But here we have our perfect God being loyal to sinners. We didn’t do anything for him but he acts as if he owes us something! We can’t make his life any better but he acts as if he needs us! We can’t possibly move him to be any happier - and in fact most of the time we just cause him more problems - but he actually wants us around! He wants us to be near him! He wants us to live with him in his home forever! And so he keeps watch over us and protects us in his hands even at those times when we are scrambling to crawl out of them! Our Lord’s loyalty to us is astounding! He should have left us long ago! He should have abandoned us before we were even born! But here he still is: with scars on his back and holes in his hands and puncture wounds in his skull and a tomb that once bore his name. And he still loves us like that. He would suffer all over again if he had to. He would hang on that cross longer. He would die for us if that’s what it would take to get us to heaven.
And so here we come back to a promise God gives us through the apostle Paul: “If we died with him, we will also live with him.” How did we die with Christ? As Paul himself says in an earlier letter that he wrote to the congregation in Rome: “All of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death” (Rom. 6:3). Through our baptisms we were connected to Christ’s actual death on the cross. Through that water and the Word we were given the forgiveness Christ earned through his sacrifice and we are forever tethered to that cross. And so because we died with Christ we will also live with him. He rose from the tomb; so will we! He lives in heaven; so will we! He reigns; so will we! This is his promise to us based on everything that he has done! This is not a promise contingent on anything we do. This is not a promise held as a carrot in front of our noses if only we can get to where we’re supposed to go or be who we are supposed to be. No, this is a promise that the Lord gives us because he has already done enough. The promise of heaven is ours. It is not a “maybe” or even a “will be.” Life with our Lord in heaven is ours right now. And although we may have to fight a vicious battle with sin through this life, victory is our right now.
Those few hundred men who rushed at their enemies under the leadership of Sam Houston in 1836 didn’t know if they would win. They wanted to, they thought they might, but they couldn’t be sure. And so as they rushed forward yelling at the top of their lungs, “Remember the Alamo,” they hoped, they wished that they would be able to do what their brothers couldn’t and finally win the independence that those 187 men had died for.
As we rush forward out these doors this morning and into “life” again, we do know that we will win the war - because we already have. We can be sure that our enemies will be defeated and we will end up with the victory because our battle cry, “Remember Jesus Christ,” is not just a hope; it’s not just a wish; it’s not just some sentimental reminder about a man who set an example for us to follow. “Remember Jesus Christ” is a confession of faith in the one who already poured out his blood on the battlefield to win our independence. It is complete trust in the forgiveness he won there. It is the unshakeable conviction that “If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him… [and] if we are faithless, he will remain faithful.” Remember Jesus Christ: your faithful Savior, your loyal Lord, your dedicated God. Your life may be filled with faithless actions and words and thoughts. But the outcome of the battle isn’t determined on how well you live this life; it has already been determined by the death Christ already died and the resurrection he already accomplished. Remember your Jesus Christ. With him the war is won. With him the victory is yours.
Amen.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” - 1 Peter 1:3
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