... what mattered most to Paul was not what he had done, said, or believed; but what Jesus had done, said, and believed.
What makes all the difference for us is the faithfulness of Jesus, not what we think about Jesus.
Paul develops this idea in several of his letters, and perhaps most notably in Romans—which is his most considered and intentional theological statement. There he parallels the faithfulness of Abraham, which generated blessing for all his direct descendants, with the faithfulness of Jesus, which generate blessings for all humanity.
It is a simple and elegant idea.
What matters is not what we do, not even what we believe.
What matters is what Jesus did, as he lived out his own faithfulness to God.
Full text of this sermon | Video 1 (0800 Liturgy) | Video 2 (0930 Baptism Liturgy)