Circumcision & Name of Jesus sermon

It is not that the law has no more place in the lives of Christians. It functions in three ways in our lives: as a curb to keep us from outbreaks of sin, as a mirror to show us our sins, and as a guide to show us how to live God-pleasing lives. But the law has no place in the equation of our salvation. It is not the promise of the Gospel + the works of the law. It is not Jesus + anything else. It is Jesus’ holy life + Jesus’ atoning death = our salvation. Your and my contribution to the equation is only and always sinfulness, weakness, and disbelief. But for each of your sins, Jesus counters with grace. And if that grace seems too little to cover the “bigger” sins, He applies more grace. As sins multiply, so does His grace. St. John writes, “From His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace”—grace and more grace, grace on top of grace, super-abundant grace.