Sermon Tone Analysis

We’re talking about what it takes to BE CONTAGIOUS with God’s love.

Today we want to talk about creating a "come as you are" culture in the church.

No one is a member of the body of Christ, the Church, because they deserve to be.

None of us got God’s attention by our perfection because none of us is faultless.

If you believe you’re perfect please don’t congregate with the rest of us because we’re sinners.

We’re sinners saved by the grace of God and we’re very grateful for that - but we’re still not flawless.

"The church is the only organization in the world where the only qualification for membership is to be unqualified.

The church is not a place for people who are ’together’, obedient, and spiritual.

If you really think this, then you were conned.

The church is actually a place for people who are needy, afraid, confused, and quite sinful.

But even more important than that, the church is a place for people who have been loved, and have no idea why.

Each congregation is, as it were, a local chapter of ’Sinners Anonymous.’"-Steve

Brown

This is one of the most contagious principles the church has going for her! Nothing is more contagious to the unchurched than to find out there is a place where they can come and not be intimidated by the false notion that the people around them think they already have it all together.

If you’ve ever been around a bunch of spiritual snobs then you know what I’m talking about.

No one can be more unapproachable than a group of Christ followers who have forgotten how they received God’s grace.

Nothing is more repulsive than a bunch of spiritual elites, and nothing is more contagious than a group of humble sinners saved by the grace of God praising God for His love!

The honest admission of Christ followers that, "Yes, sometimes we struggle," is very attractive to the unchurched.

It’s refreshing for them to hear us admit that sometimes we wrestle with doing the will of God.

Our Savior is perfect but we’re still in the molding process, the process whereby He’s making us more like Him.

Many of us have matured in the faith to the place that we live with consistency - but the truth is - even the most mature among us still struggle with some things.

We have general success facing our anxieties and temptations but we still have them.

We’ve made progress but we haven’t arrived at perfection yet.

Even the great Apostle Paul admitted this.

Every spiritually mature person should have an attitude of humility, an attitude of appreciation to God for His forgiveness, for the pardon that is not based on our level of accomplishment but rather based on His grace!

How can the church utilize this principle to her greatest advantage - this principle of NO PERFECT PEOPLE ALLOWED?

How can we create a "come as you are" culture in the church?

There are three SCRIPTURAL & SIMPLE PLANKS REQUIRED TO BUILD A BRIDGE to a "come as you are" culture in the church - three ways we can create a NO PERFECT PEOPLE ALLOWED church.

These are the things we need to concern ourselves with even when we’re having a conversation out in the entrance hall that might be overheard by one of our guests.

These are the things we need to emphasize in our small groups and in our fellowships.

These things need to permeate every part of our church activity.

The first one is...

A CONTAGIOUS ALLOWANCE.

Creating a culture of dialogue

When we exhibit grace toward others - we are following the pattern set by God toward us.

How did God allow us to come to Him in order to have a personal relationship with Him?

God allowed us to come to Him for salvation in our imperfect state, while we were still sinners.

Even though He is totally perfect and holy, He didn’t wait for us to clean up our act and THEN allow us come to Him.

If that had been the case none of us would have been able to come to Him.

We would never have been able to make ourselves presentable enough on our own.

We had to have Christ’s righteousness in order to stand before the Father.

We must allow others to come searching for Him the same way.

We must encourage them to come to God JUST AS THEY ARE.

That’s why the invitation song, "Just As I Am" has been so popular in churches down through the years.

When I come to God - I must come "just as I am."

We need to demolish any barriers that stand in the way of the unchurched coming to God because they think they aren’t good enough.

We must guard against sending out the wrong signals to others who don’t yet know Christ.

It may be intentional or it may be unintentional but we sometimes get the steps of salvation out of sequence.

Here’s the process.

You come to God JUST AS YOU ARE.

You make a faith commitment to Him based on your willingness to believe in what Jesus did in dying for your sins on the cross and His willingness to accept you because of His gracious nature.

You don’t say, "God, when I become perfect I’ll be back for salvation."

If you could achieve total righteousness on your own you wouldn’t need God.

So first, you have to come to God for salvation JUST AS YOU ARE.

Then, AFTER you’ve come to God by faith, He begins the lifelong process of helping you to become more like His Son Jesus by the work of the Holy Spirit!

It’s very, very important that we get the sequence of events correct on this matter.

How can we make sure we get this right?

Since allowing others to come to God "just as they are" is so vitally important, what scriptural and practical steps can I take to insure I get this right?

Here are a couple ALLOWANCES we need to make:

Allow others to question our faith.

Show genuine interest in the opinions of others, in their doubts, fears, anxieties, even though you don’t agree or don’t know why they would possess such viewpoints.

You may have to work to find the time to listen.

Sometimes a co-worker may approach you when you are supposed to be carrying out a work responsibility and you can’t talk right then.

But as often as you can, make time for others and their perspectives, even if their focal point is diametrically opposed to yours.

Respect their opinion.

If they have questions, respect that too.

Instead of questioning the questions of the unchurched we ought to say, "That’s a good question.

I’m glad you asked.

If I can’t explain the answer to you we’ll find someone who can or we’ll dig into the Scriptures together to work through this."

It ought to be refreshing to us when someone sincerely inquires, "How do we know the Bible is truly the Word of God? How do we know that Jesus was a real person?

Why does the church teach that Jesus is the only way to Heaven?"

Or, "If God is love, why is there a hell, why does He allow evil, why do bad things happen to good people?"

Those are good questions.

I had to find answers to those questions myself back when I was a new believer.

There’s nothing wrong with asking questions about faith.

Creating a culture of dialogue is essential to healthy faith formation.

We shouldn’t squirm and frown when seekers ask pertinent questions.

We should smile and approve of their interest, because smiling and showing approval are very contagious.

We should allow others to question our faith.

Allow others to wrestle with their unbelief.

A good example of this is the father who brought his demon possessed son to Jesus for exorcism in Mark chapter nine.

The demon inside of his son had been causing him to have dangerous seizures and so the boy’s dad brought him to Christ.

But even as this father brought his boy to Jesus, he was struggling with placing his complete trust in Christ.

Perhaps he had heard of the power of Jesus but never seen it for himself.

When Jesus told him that "anything is possible to those who believe," this father’s answer was so transparent, so honest; you have to admire it.

Can’t you just feel that father’s inner struggle?

Can’t you just sense his sincerity?

"This is my boy here we’re talking about.

I’d do anything to help him get over his pain and suffering.

But I don’t know much about you Jesus.

I’m just a layman.

I’m not a theologian.

Yes, I have some belief.

But honestly, I have some doubts too.

The last thing I would want to do is lie to you Jesus and tell you I’m 100% convinced that you’re the healer others say you are."

Jesus didn’t shut off dialogue with this hurting father.

He didn’t tell him his son wouldn’t have been in this predicament if he had only been a better parent.

And He didn’t deny his request for help because his faith was feeble.

He healed his son and returned him to wholeness!

And that’s how the church should act.