What Does A Good Church Look Like 4a
What Does a Good Church Look Like • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Turn to Romans 4. Continue our journey to discover what a good church looks like. As we enter chapter 4, Paul is “arguing” with his Jewish/Christian audience, pointing out some theological errors, hoping they would trust fully in the work of Jesus Christ. The first error was that Jews believed they were entitled to a right standing with God simply because they were Jewish. “I'm a Jew, I'm good to go.” People do this today. “My parents were Christian or I'm a good person – I’m fine.” That's false thinking. Secondly, they believed that justification and righteousness (not-guilty status) before God was attained through keeping the Law and not entirely by faith. So, in this section Paul makes the point that Abraham, the father and patriarch of the Jewish people trusted God and his faith was the key to having a right status or position or a right relationship before God. Faith was the key, not keeping the Law.
In Genesis, God called Abraham and said to him, “I will bless and make you the father of many nations. And through your lineage, all nations will be blessed,” meaning through Abraham’s seed would come the Messiah. Abraham and his wife Sarah were well beyond age bearing years (90 and 100) – yet they believed God – and they were considered righteous. That’s the backdrop.
What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh?
For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.
For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”
Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.
And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,
Who does God justify?
The person who trusts in Him, including the ungodly. The reality is everyone is ungodly until they trust in God, specifically in Jesus Christ His Son. The other reality is that we were all ungodly at one point, yet God loved us enough to welcome us into His family, and to forgive us. Therefore, we must believe the same is true of all people – that no matter how ungodly a person is, God loves them enough to justify, to forgive, to save ….
I believe there are some who are beyond redemption, but I can’t decide who ….
just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:
“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;
blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”
Blessed has a few meanings in Scripture, but here it means happy, fortunate, or favored. Ever experienced the forgiveness of God and that happy feeling and elation of the weight of sin, shame, and guilt being lifted …. “I’m forgiven! This is awesome!”
Who does God forgive?
The person who trusts in Him, the person who needs forgiven including the ungodly. What happens to our sins? Gone! Washed! Done away with!
“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
Anyone here struggling to believe …? There may be lingering consequences, but the sin and guilt have been washed away.
If God can forgive the ungodly, what should a good church be able to do?
A Good Church will not hold past sins over people’s heads. A Good Church will put past sins in the grave where they belong!
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,
nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
So what kind of a place should a good church be?
A Good Church is a place where sins can truly be forgiven and if possible, forgotten.
We want to be a church that communicates if God can forgive you, so can we! If God can wipe away your past, so can we!
A Good Church is a place of new beginnings, fresh starts, and do-overs.
Have I shared the story of the little boy who messed up his writing assignment? That is part of the message and hope we must give people – you can begin again here.
How can you help this church be a place of new beginnings, fresh starts, and do-overs for each other and for our community?
Moving on.
Circumcision was the sign of a covenant that God made with Abraham and subsequently with Israel. The purpose was to help the Jews remember that they were holy, separate from the nations, but also, they were the priests to the nations. However, the Jews took it to a level God never intended. Circumcision became a source of arrogance, pride, and disdain for others.
Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness.
How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised.
He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well,
and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
To make sure we all understand, let’s think of this as the proverbial horse and cart. Where does the horse go? Before the cart. Horse first, cart second. Same with faith and circumcision – faith first, then circumcision. Let’s think of circumcision as transformation. Again, horse first, cart second. Faith first, circumcision second. Faith first, transformation second. Faith then transformation.
So here’s my point -
A Good Church does not put the cart (transformation) before the horse (faith).
We can’t preach transformation without first preaching faith in Christ and Christ crucified. You know what that’s called? Humanism.
Humanism is faith in humanity!
Humanity messed everything up and humanity should be able to fix it! That’s a false ideology that leads people to Hell and sadly sometimes we Christians by into it – focusing on behavior without faith. Let’s be honest,
Sometimes we’re more concerned about behavior modification (humanism) than salvation.
Not saying we neglect behavior – we can’t – but throughout the centuries the Church has had moments of enforcing or legislating morality (behavior) without introducing people to Jesus. We cannot put the cart before the horse.
Curious – if the people around us behaved well, would we still want them to know Jesus?
Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?”
Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
Do we at times, like the Jews struggle with believing that God could love those people?
So, considering all this,
What should a Good Church look like? You fill in the blank.
“Those people” – (1 Cor. 6 and more) – need to start the Christian journey somewhere – why not here with us at Klamath Falls Nazarene.
How? Let’s start with this:
1) Pray at least once a day for 1 year to lead 1 person to the One Savior.
2) Pray once a week for the pastor and church leaders to know God’s vision and promise for this church.
Where are you with Jesus. Do you need to transfer your trust?
Admit. Believe (trust). Commit.