Title: THE PRICE OF GRACE—PRICELESS
Focus: The grace of God is priceless and calls for a servant attitude.
Function: To move the people to relish God’s Word of grace in Christ and to serve God unselfishly, with a servant heart.
Text: II Kings 5:15-27
A while ago, I was flipping TV channels and I bumped into a self-styled minister/evangelist with a so-called healing ministry. As I listened to him speak from the Bible, he emphasized that Jesus Christ is Savior. And the evangelist made clear that salvation is God’s gift. The evangelist said that you cannot buy the gift of healing, forgiveness, and eternal life. Salvation is truly free. That sounded very biblical to me.
But then he went on and talked about seed money: how you as a Christian should give money to his ministry and then expect God to give you financial blessings and prosperity in return. If you give some seed money, then God in return will reward you with even more money into your pocket. And that’s when the evangelist undermined God’s Word and discredited God’s grace, for the motivation of such giving is NOT gratitude but selfishness and greed.
It got worse when the evangelist proceeded to explain that you could receive divine healing by sending some money to his ministry and asking for a prayer cloth. The evangelist promised to pray over the prayer cloth (once he received your financial gift), and then he would send the prayer cloth to your home. You, in return, must place the prayer cloth on your body where physical healing is needed, and you must claim by faith the healing that was prayed for by the evangelist.
And that’s when I turned off the TV and thought about Elisha, and Naaman and Gehazi. What would they say in response to this huckstering spirit of ours today? In light of the Scriptures, I think they would say that the grace of God is priceless and calls for a servant attitude. In fact, we are to relish God’s Word of grace in Christ Jesus, and we are to serve God unselfishly, with a servant heart.
We enter the story of Naaman, Gehazi and Elisha at a very critical moment. God has healed Naaman’s leprosy as Naaman deferred to God’s Word of grace. At first, Naaman was highly offended when Elisha spoke the Word of God, telling Naaman to wash in the Jordan River seven times. “Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel?” said Naaman. Stubborn, proud Naaman had to learn to bow before the Word of God.
That Word calls for obedience, for humbling ourselves, for a deep and quiet trust that healing and salvation depend—NOT on what we do, but on what God wishes to do in us and through us when we respond with obedience. Naaman’s personal attendants understood this truth and they appealed to their master and talked common sense into him.
As a result, Naaman obeyed and dipped into the Jordan River, seven times. And his flesh was fully restored. Naaman is healed. Naaman is ecstatic. He is a new man. With leprosy on his skin, the future looked dim. In fact, Naaman was doomed to isolation and eventually a dismal death. But now, the future is open again. There’s hope, health and healing again! Naaman, the leper, has become again Naaman, the commander of Ben-Hadad’s army.
But there’s something different about Naaman; he is undergoing a conversion. Rushing back to Elisha’s house after his healing, Naaman cries out to the prophet saying: “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel.” This is a wonderful and remarkable profession of faith coming from the lips of a foreigner, who has learned to worship and bow down to many gods.
Naaman is becoming a new man from the inside. He is turning away from the idols of his home territority, and he acknowledges that the God of Israel is superior to all the false gods in the world. You would expect the King of Israel to make such a profession. But no, King Joram of Israel, has no faith or no clue about the power and presence of God’s Word in Israel. But Naaman does!
Naaman’s conversion to the God of Israel results in Naaman’s request to take a load of Israelian soil back to Aram. Naaman is still operating with pagan notions about certain territories having certain gods. Thus when it comes to the area of war, Naaman had learned to worship Rimmon, the god of war. When it comes to fertility and prosperity, the people would worship Baal, the god of thunder and rain and agriculture. In Naaman’s mind then it’s simple: if you are going to worship the God of Israel, you want to do so on Israelian soil. Since he lives in Aram, he’ll have to truck some Israelian dirt to Aram. Ah, Naaman has a way to go yet when it comes to learning that Israel’s God, Yahweh, is the Creator and Redeemer of all the earth.
With Naaman’s new-found faith in Israel’s God comes also some tension. First of all, Naaman has a strong need to pay his debt. God’s healing has put Naaman in a position of debt. Naaman is ready to pay his debt with gifts and riches. But Naaman must learn that God’s Word of grace is priceless.
The only proper response to God’s grace is gratitude from the heart. Elisha made this clear when he said to Naaman. “As surely as the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will not accept a thing.” In other words, God’s Word of grace is priceless. It’s precious and it cannot be bought.
Naaman’s faith in Israel’s God presented Naaman with another problem as well. Intuitively, Naaman understands that God calls for loyalty, total allegiance of worship and service. But how do you show such loyalty to Israel’s God when your own king needs you to be present to bow down in the temple of Rimmon, the war god of Aram?
Now there’s a dilemma. Since Elisha has no specific word of God to Naaman on that score, Elisha simply entrusts Naaman to God and says: “Go in peace.” Elisha leaves Naaman in God’s hand. Naaman is God’s project. And God will deal with Naaman’s newfound faith as God sees fit. The priceless grace of God sets us free to serve the Lord wholeheartedly. God’s Word makes clear that we must learn to develop a servant heart and serve the Lord unselfishly.
The story of Naaman and the priceless grace of God’s Word, finds its fulfillment in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is the eternal Son and Word of God, who has taken on our flesh. Jesus is God-in-the-flesh. As such, he could take our place and bear the wrath of God on our sins. Jesus died, rose again, and now he is seated at the right hand of God the Father.
Anyone who comes to Jesus Christ by faith and embraces his gift of healing, forgiveness, eternal life or salvation in all its fullness---any such person discovers that God’s Word of grace is priceless—a treasure that you cannot buy.
And now you and I must learn today that God’s priceless grace calls for a servant heart.
CALLS FOR A SERVANT HEART
I say that in light of Gehazi’s actions. Gehazi is the servant of Elisha. Elisha bears the Word of God. Thus Gehazi, as Elisha’s servant, also serves the Word of God. As such, Gehazi must do everything in his power to honor the Word, to do its bidding, to model reverence and respect for that Word of God. Gehazi must serve God’s Word with a servant heart.
But Gehazi chooses to serve himself. He observes the talents and riches of Naaman, which Elisha declines. The spirit of covetousness and greed enters Gehazi’s heart. He wants the riches of Naaman to accommodate himself, buying fields, herds or servants for example. Gehazi thinks that this is an opportune time to strike it rich by taking advantage of God’s Word of grace to Naaman.
So, Gehazi comes up with a story and appeals to Naaman, saying, “My master sent me to say, ‘Two young men from the company of the prophets have just come to me from the hill country of Ephraim, Please give them a talent of silver and two sets of clothing.”
Did you notice? Gehazi’s desire for wealth and riches, leads him to lie, (a huge fib); leads him to discredit his master Elisha; leads him to undermine the Word of grace. In other words, Gehazi serves himself, instead of the Word of God.
Elisha responds saying, “Is this the time to take money, or to accept clothes, olive groves, vineyards, flocks, herds, or menservants and maidservants?”
This is key: Elisha and Gehazi are living in a time of great apostasy and idolatry. Many of God’s people are falling away from the faith. They are swallowed up by their culture and its false gods. There are also many false prophets, who aim to please themselves and who get rich from the people who pay them for their false prophecies and religious services. The entire priesthood and ministry of God’s Word in Israel is undermined by idolatry and apostasy.
It’s at this critical moment in time that God’s Word shows its power and grace to Naaman. And it’s at this critical time that Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, undermines the ministry of Elisha and the Word of God. For Gehezi ignores the message of God’s Word to Naaman, namely that God’s Word of grace is priceless.
Today, congregation, we live in a time of apostasy. Many are falling away from the Christ and the Christian faith. The name of Christ and his body, the church are denigrated and pushed to the side as being irrelevant. This is what the Lord calls us to do in our time:
a. Honor God’s Word of grace proclaimed by your pastors and celebrated in worship in this sanctuary. Lift high the cross of Christ, the message of salvation, the priceless grace of God. Let us not undermine the ministry of God’s Word and God’s Church by selfishness, by living narcissistically—for ourselves. In this day and age of apostasy, new age religions and advancing secularism, let us be sure to honor and accentuate God’s Word of grace.
The Christian faith is not about money, it’s not about you or me. Rather, it’s all about the Word of God’s grace in our lives and world. That’s the story that we must live and model to all around us. Yes, this is what the Lord calls us to do in our day and age:
b. Serve him with a servant heart. Learn from Gehazi. The source of our health and wealth is not found in treasures of gold and silver. It’s found in God’s Word.
That Word of God becomes most visible in Jesus Christ. In him, we have life and wholeness. In him, there is salvation both now and forever more. No wonder that the apostle Paul can say in response to our salvation in Christ Jesus: “I urge you…in view of God’s mercy, to present yourselves, your bodies, as living sacrificing, holy and pleasing to God.” Relish God’s Word of grace in Christ and serve him unselfishly, with a servant heart.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen!