I Don't Get It

*Call to Worship

L: Come away from the rush and worry of the world to worship God.

P: We come seeking peace and quiet for our souls.

L: Rest your spirits. Quiet your hearts. God is with us.

P: Praise be to God who calls us to come away.

First Reading: Psalm 19

Second Reading: Ephesians 2:1-10

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Eph 2:1–10.

Sermon: I Don’t Get It

I don’t get it. Maybe you do, but I don’t. You see, I know me. As a matter of fact, there isn’t anyone I am more familiar with than myself. I’ve known me since I was born. And for that reason, I know the things I did as I grew up. I know there were times I was mean to my sister before she passed. I know there were times I lied to my parents. Times I disobeyed them. Times I didn’t listen to them or heed their wisdom. I know there are times when I wanted what I wanted and I wasn’t going to be happy unless I got what I wanted. I know in my life, there were times I did things I am ashamed of. Times I did things I shouldn’t have done. Even though I accepted Christ into my heart when I was only 7 years old, I was still at times rebellious. I know there are times when my parents would say, if you asked them, that they were disappointed in my behavior, my attitude, my actions. You see, I know who I am, better than anyone else knows me. I know what I’ve done. I know who I’ve been. I know who I am.

And Paul does too. Or so it seems. He talks about me in these verses we just listened to. “you, Troy, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. “ How did he know that? Paul lived a long time before me and yet here it is, my story.

But as we continue to listen, Paul also says, “Troy, it’s not just your story. It’s also my story. It’s everyone’s story.” He says, “All of us also lived among them at one time”. He’s talking about “transgressions and sins.” Now, when Kolaya and I were foster parents, we would talk about the biological parents, and one of the phrases we’d use were “bad choices”. Which was true. The parents who we dealt with had made some bad choices, bad decisions. But theologically speaking, people make bad choices when they are still dead in their transgressions and sins.

Now, I’m not saying they want to. I don’t know anyone who wants to get lost but sometimes it takes a while to figure out we aren’t where we thought we were. And Paul says, “gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.” This is my story. This is Paul’s story. This is your story.

We deserve God’s wrath. I deserve God’s wrath. Now, that I understand. I get that. I should get what I deserve. I mean that’s the way life works. If I clock in at 8 am and clock out at 5 pm, I deserve to be paid for the hours I put in. If I only get paid for two hours in that whole time, I’ll be unhappy with my boss and say, “That’s not fair. You didn’t give me what I deserve.” I understand this concept. Getting what you deserve. I get that.

But Paul says that in this case, we don’t get what we deserve. Instead, even though we deserve wrath, even though we deserve the anger of God, the judgment of God, Paul says that’s not what we get. Now is anyone else stumped by this? I mean, when I was a kid, if my parents caught me in an act of disobedience, I was punished. And sometimes that punishment hurt. I got what I deserved.

So how does this work with God? I know what I’ve done better than anyone else. God knows what I’ve done. But instead of His wrath, Paul says, “because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions.” And Paul also says, “it is by grace you have been saved.”

And that’s what I don’t get. I mean, I understand what it means. I recognize that Paul is saying that we don’t save ourselves, that we are saved by grace. Paul tells us that instead of the wrath of God that we deserve we receive His mercy. Paul says that because of what Christ has done on the cross, we can be forgiven of our sins and receive the gift of eternal life.

But can I confess something to you this morning? The truth is, I don’t appreciate the grace of God like I should. I know I don’t because I know me. And it just seems to me that if the only thing that saves us is God’s grace, then we should work harder at understanding what it means to be recipients of His amazing grace.