By Grace Alone

Message Content

Introduction

Text

Tension

Big Question

How does Jesus’ death on the cross actually save us? How can sinful people be made right with a holy God?

Truth

Vs 19-20

Law // Mirror // Bad news // death (Get louder) Paul is telling the church in Rome and us that we are doomed. (Build) No hope within ourselves The law never saved anyone and it will never save anyone!

It's only ever doomed people to despair or by making people believe they are actually good. BUT NOW!!! But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law. Now that Christ has come, we don’t have to be held to the law’s standard. He fulfilled the law for us. He was the only one who obeyed it. Vs 23 — we are all sinful

Humanity // Great equalizer

3  If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities,

O Lord, who could stand?

4  But with you there is forgiveness,

that you may be feared.

Psalm 130:3–4

But we are justified by his grace.

We get let off the hook for our disobedience to God. How can this happen? Is God and unjust judge who lets the innocent go free?

Exodus 34:6-7

6 The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

God has to remain righteous

He fulfilled the law for us. He was the only one who obeyed it. And he took our place on the cross

Look at vs 25 — propitiation Satisfy the wrath of God This is what were talking about when we talk about grace.

Grace is getting something you don’t deserve God gives this to you as a gift. Often — try to earn it

Remember what you were trying to use to save you…that same thing was the thing pointing you to the fact that you weren’t able to save yourself. Redemption in vs 24.

Bought slave Scripture calls us a slave to sin (John 8:32) You needed to be set free

You cannot buy grace

No amount of good works can restore the brokenness of our relationship. As if we could so something so good to twist God’s arm into loving us. You can’t force someone to love you.

We are sick people that are so selfish Grace is a gift — by its nature it isn’t something that can be earned. Stop trying to earn it.

Holding you back from freedom in Christ You once were a slave but now you’re free.

Stop living like a slave. What this will do is transform our obedience from duty to choice.

John Newton hymn ====

The father isn’t standing in heaven like “you have to impress me or I won’t love you.” He was impressed by the son and he chose you to be the object of his love.

looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Heb 12:2

God delights in giving you grace as a father delights in giving his child a hug. The reason God can forgive sinners and still be righteous is that Jesus took out punishment for us. Imputation

Landing

The reason we can get what we don’t deserve is that Jesus got what he didn’t deserve. The reason we can have grace is that Jesus was denied justice.