Faith is a Covenant not a Transaction - Sermon

August 10, 2025

LUKE 12:32-40

Is faith transactional?  Can we earn or buy God’s blessing? Of course not. Blessings are not something we purchase.

But as we look into how our mind works, there is a bit of transactional sense as we approach everything.  We tend to assume there is a price for everything. To get something you want, you must give something in return.  The ancient law of cause and effect shapes our thinking: do good for reward, do evil then you’ll pay the price. Other cultures call this karma.

In a way, we put good things into our lives, hoping that it will come back to us with other good things.

As Christians, we might wonder: if our efforts and good intentions will just be neglected and go in vain, what would be the purpose of doing good? In this sense, faith seems to be explained by transactional exchange to a certain extent. However, at a deeper level, it is nothing like that at all.

For exchanges to be fair, what is given and received must carry equal value. Yet, when it comes to what is exchanged between us and God, it does not match up. We feel like God rewards to our good behavior and punish our wrong doings. But we sometimes forget that we already exist in God’s abundant blessing from the beginning.

We did not earn the gift of life.  We did not do anything to live in God’s created world. Everything that makes us alive and makes our lives rich is given for free. We at times wonder why God does not give what we want, while forgetting countless, unconditional blessings. Furthermore, God is not just a creator who created the world of goodness and beauty and let things flow like a by stander.

God intervenes. God’s will is not only found in the order of created world, but also in the course of salvation history. Most profoundly, God’s purpose is revealed in the covenant with his people. Through Noah, Abraham, Moses, Dave, and certainly many unknown faithful ones who listened to God. God made sacred promises of love and relationship, not a mere contract, or a cold transaction.

I will be your God and you will be my people. Over and over, as humanity wandered, God’s love endured. Though His people forgot, gave up, or even rebelled, God remained faithful. He disciplined, reassured, and ultimately, in unmatched compassion, sent His Son. God’s beloved Son, the one who is one with God, who knows and loves God from the beginning till the end.

As Jesus came to our world, not to judge, destroy, or sweep away all broken things, but with his words and deeds, through authority and power. He forgave us, he held us and guided us back to God. When the promise was broken on our end, God did not withdraw His promise; rather, through Jesus, he renewed his promise with even greater clarity and depth in a radical way.

Then the question comes to Why? In our ordinary lives, we often ask, why God does not give what we need, what we ask? Why are our good deeds not rewarded? But maybe the opposite questions would be worth pondering. Why does God have to put up with all our faults and weaknesses? Why does God even allow His beloved son go through all sufferings and pains caused by our arrogance and ignorance?

As we apply transactional perspective from God’s end, God does not owe anything to us. As we see our world so broken, our lives so lost, I am more surprised that God did not give up on this world. In a mysterious way, God not just endures our brokenness but also somehow transforms it into something divine.

It can be only explained by the wonder of God’s love. God the creator of all made a covenant with us, claimed us to be His people, and then He never changed his will, not because we are worthy of that, but only because God is good, God is faithful.

On that note, let’s look at the message of today’s Gospel. In today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches his followers not to be anxious about worldly concerns, but to pursue heavenly things. Be vigilant in our spiritual life, live faithfully in everything we do, be ready at every moment we live. Because we do not know the time when our Lord will come.

In a narrow sense, it almost sounds like this is what you need to do to receive the kingdom. Instead of seeking our own comforts and pleasure, do not miss the opportunities to do good for others. Instead of justifying and making excuses for our wrong doings, come before God asking forgiveness. If we fail to remain ready and vigilant, then we will miss the chance when the time comes.

Maybe for people with rigid minds, they needed to hear a bit strong warning. For those who are still occupied with what they gain or what they lose, this message may alert them to examine whether what they are searching for is the right treasure. Without knowing who God is, being awake and vigilant may only refer to our attitudes and choices that will condition our salvation. But in a covenantal perspective, it may refer to our remembrance of who we are in relationship to God.

We are created from our Abba. We are saved by Christ. We are accompanied by the Holy Spirit. So always be mindful of this love then we will find God in an unexpected time and place.

C.S. Lewis said, “The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.”

In this light, our salvation does not depend on our own readiness, but it all begins with remembering and trusting God’s love for us. Do not be afraid whether you are doing enough or are awake fully. All we need is to know that God is with us and knowing that we are, and will always be, God’s people.

So let us pray: