Everyone Needs a Savior
Grace and Peace: Welcome One Another As Christ Welcomed You • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 11 viewsPaul throughly understood the thinking of both the weak and the strong. Paul began his letter promoting peace by telling the Torah-observant Jews, who judged the Gentile world as wicked and sinful, they were essentially correct in their judgment. However, in condemning the Gentiles for their unrighteousness, they were also condemning themselves. The weak judged everyone for not living up to the standards of the Torah, but they did not live up to its standards either. Do we ever fall into the trap of this sort of self-righteousness? Do we ever look down our noses at others for not living up to a standard that we ourselves don’t meet? The only way to live at peace with one another is to acknowledge the truth: we all need a Savior!
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
Introduction:
In your spiritual imagination…
Who are the good guys and the bad guys?
Who are the good guys and the bad guys?
Politically?
Culturally?
Religiously?
What assumptions do you make, what stereotypes do you believe, about them?
Whatever your answer, just think about that for just a second.
The Jewish Christians in the first century had a clear idea of the good guys and bad guys:
Greeks / Romans / Gentiles (the nations) were the bad guys
Israel and the Jewish people were the good guys
Biblical Text:
Biblical Text:
Paul gives the traditional Jewish argument about the idolatry of the nations…
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
Not a new argument
Similar to the Wisdom of Solomon (1st century Jewish book)
1 For all people who were ignorant of God were foolish by nature; and they were unable from the good things that are seen to know the one who exists, nor did they recognize the artisan while paying heed to his works; 2 but they supposed that either fire or wind or swift air, or the circle of the stars, or turbulent water, or the luminaries of heaven were the gods that rule the world.
They liked God’s creation, but didn’t give him credit
Instead, they worshiped fire, wind, air, stars, water…
They worshiped idols
Not disagreeing
He is agreeing
But also playing on stereotypes about idolaters
Think about the worst stereotypes about HOLLYWOOD
- They aren’t true of everyone in Hollywood
- There are plenty of exceptions
- But there is truth to them
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
“gave them up” to impurity…to dishonoring
This is exactly what the Wisdom of Solomon is about
Allowing people to pursue their own foolish desires
Is a type of punishment
I just want to point this out…
Sometimes the worst punishment is getting exactly what you want.
Sometimes the worst punishment is getting exactly what you want.
Popcorn story
My family and I were sharing some popcorn. I was being really selfish with it. So, they made me eat the whole bag. They gave me up to the lusts of my heart.
My punishment was getting exactly what I wanted
This was true of the Greek culture, but this is something our culture needs to understand as well…
26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
Let me say two things:
First, the behavior Paul is describing is…
incompatible with a lifestyle of following Jesus
it is wrong
it is always wrong, there’s not a context in which this behavior can be made right
Second, anyone who wants to use this passage as ammunition to attack people
need to keep reading
Paul is building his argument…he’s not done yet
28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.
Echoing a common argument about the wickedness of the Greeks
See how similar this sounds to the Wisdom of Solomon
25 And all things are an overwhelming confusion of blood and murder, theft and deceit, corruption, unfaithfulness, tumult, perjury, 26 turmoil of those who are good, forgetfulness of favors, defilement of souls, sexual perversion, disorder in marriages, adultery and debauchery.
27 For the worship of nameless idols is the beginning and cause and end of every evil.
Their argument seems to be something like…
idols are the cause of all the really bad stuff in the world
our people don’t worship idols
therefore, WE are not guilty of all that really bad stuff
Paul is granting the premise of their argument
idolatry does lead to all kinds of bad behavior
and you’re right, that behavior is all bad
32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
These are criminals that deserve to die, right?
God should just level all the Gentile nations?
God should punish all the wicked, lawless, unrighteous people, right?
By agreeing, they are falling into Paul’s rhetorical trap…
1 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. 2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things.
Point your finger at someone, 3 more pointing back at you
You’re right, they deserve to die
But you practice “such things” as well
You deserve to die as well
You’re under the same condemnation
3 Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God?
Paul doesn’t say you’re wrong about all the Gentiles…
They’re all quite nice people
It’s ok if they do some of these things
They have to live their truth
You’re right that they are under God’s judgment…but SO ARE YOU!
4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
Repentance
This is such an important word
Turn around stop doing what you’re doing
CHANGE
God’s kindness and patience is supposed to CHANGE you
Humble
Obedient
Submissive to his will
Who are the BAD GUYS?
under God’s judgment
wicked
unrighteous
ME, I’VE BEEN the BAD GUY
MY PEOPLE, MY NATION
5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 He will render to each one according to his works:
Wait a second!
I thought we were saved by grace through faith
Not by works
How can Paul say God will render to each of us according to our works?
What kind of works?
7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.
Two paths…
Obey Truth - when we follow Jesus in faith, we are seeking for glory and honor and immortality by obeying the truth
Obey Unrighteousness - self-seeking by obeying unrighteousness (both the Greek and Idolater and the religious law-keeper who is too self-righteous to trust in Christ)
9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek.
Remember the rest of the letter…
EVERYONE needs a Savior
we are justified by grace through faith
only through the power of the Spirit can we do good
BUT WE ACTUALLY have to DO GOOD…be TRANSFORMED
You can’t keep living in sin AND be right with God
You can’t keep lying, being greedy, being sexually immoral
You have to become generous, self-giving, sacrificial
but here’s the good news…
11 For God shows no partiality.
Isn’t that good news?
God is not biased or racist.
God doesn’t offer salvation to one condemned people group, but to everyone
His impartiality means our salvation
Most of us are not Jewish!
We have as much opportunity to inherit GLORY, HONOR, and PEACE
as anyone
but if this is true…
Application:
Application:
Saved people should imitate God’s impartiality.
Saved people should imitate God’s impartiality.
love the people you’ve traditionally seen as “the bad guys”
understand that people of other nations, ethnicities, languages, cultures, and generations are just as intelligent, talented, and virtuous
be honest about your own personal sin and the sins of your group
show kindness, patience, and forbearance to everyone
honor the poor and the unknown as if they were rich and famous
Invitation:
Invitation:
Everyone needs a Savior.
You need a Savior
Your neighbors need a Savior
Your enemies need a Savior
Accept God’s impartial offer of salvation
Help extend that offer to others
