Seeking & Saving
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In last week’s message, I shared how the Bible tells us that the Kingdom of God belongs to the humble. You heard that Jesus knows what is in the heart of every man and woman, and that he came to seek and save the lost. Receiving the salvation he freely offers requires that we humble ourselves, own our sin, and ask for his forgiveness.
The gospel reading last week was Jesus’ parable on the Pharisee and Tax Collector. Two men went to the Temple to pray - one a pharisee and one a tax collector. The self-righteous Pharisee gave God thanks that he was not like the tax collector - that he was indeed a good and faithful man - no fault to be found. The tax collector on the other hand, could not even look up to the heavens when he prayed - instead he beat his chest and cried out for mercy. Jesus then instructs the crowd that it is the tax collector who walked out of the Temple that day justified and righteous before God, not the Pharisee. “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
To further illustrate that lesson, I pulled from another story in Luke without realizing at the time that it was the one that I would be preaching on today, the story of Zacchaeus. Which means that you have now heard the story of Zaccheaus twice in row - the story that tells us that “the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.”
Had I looked ahead in my worship plan, I probably would not have mentioned this passage last week. Yet I also believe that the Holy Spirit is the One who inspires and guides me when I prepare to preach His Word, therefore, I am fully confident that the Lord has more to teach us on this particular biblical account.
So what treasure can we glean from God’s Word today? Especially in light of our first reading out of Psalm 32?
One beautiful gem that jumped out to me is the power of God’s convincing grace. When the Spirit of God brings conviction, and we respond with confession of our sins, there is freedom and adoption into God’s family. That freedom leads to joy and true blessings.
The one whose wrongdoing is forgiven, whose sin is covered over, is truly happy! The one the Lord doesn’t consider guilty— in whose spirit there is no dishonesty— that one is truly happy!
Allow me to delve into a bit of Wesleyan theology for a moment in order to clarify what is meant by convincing grace. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, understood the will of God and the offer of salvation as being universal - meaning the God desires every person to receive His gift of grace and be saved.
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
Jesus didn’t die on the cross for just a select few. John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
God loves the world - everyone.
While the offer of grace is for all, all do not accept God’s grace. To help visualize how the application of God’s grace works, Wesley described it as a series of movements from one state to the next. In his sermon The Spirit of Bondage and Adoption, he explained how a man moves from being bound by sin and death to becoming a child of God. In that sermon, he uses the terms, natural state, legal state and evangelical state, to describe the process of salvation. Hang with me here.
In the natural state, a person is dead to things of God. He is blinded by the ruler of this world, Satan, and is asleep to spiritual realities. HE doesn’t think about eternity. He lives to satisfy his desires here and now.
In the legal state, a person wakes up, perceives God, realizes he/she has transgressed God’s law, and now fears the Lord.
One of my seminary professors, John Collins, explained the change from natural to legal this way:
“So the transition from the natural to the legal is one of ignorance, being ignorant of God and the things of God and now being awakened, discerning spiritual things in some sense, but now fearing God, perhaps because the conscience is pained with guilt and the life may be riven with anxiety. And so we speak of awakening as this transition out of sleep and being awake to God and the things of God…This doesn't mean that those who are awakened are born of God because they are not, but they are awake.”
You have heard me pray for an awakening of our community and our nation. We have prayed for the Spirit to move in the hearts of our neighbors and awaken them to their need for salvation.
This is where the power of God’s convincing grace is applied through the Holy Spirit. The person is awakened, they are pained with guilt, and they have a choice to make. Either seek God’s mercy or remain in bondage to sin. For the person who humbles themself, who confesses their sin and seeks mercy, they transition to, what Wesley referred to as, the evangelical state.
The evangelical state, is the moment of salvation experienced through faith in Jesus Christ where the person feels the Spirit of Adoption and receives the assurance of the forgiveness of sins. The word “Evangelical” carries with it a lot of political baggage today that was not present in the time of Wesley - the term evangelical is derived from the Koine Greek word euangelion (YOU-ON-GALION), meaning "good news," in reference to the message of salvation through Jesus Christ. This third state for Wesley is the state in which we enter when we fully receive the Good News that we are saved by grace.
In the Bible, this is what it means to be born again.
Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
This is a spiritual rebirth.
So let’s see how this process is present in the account of Zacchaeus.
As we look closer at the story, we should ask ourselves, why was Zacchaeus seeking Jesus in the first place?
Zacchaeus was the chief tax collector in the city of Jericho. Jericho is one of the oldest cities in the world and in ancient times it was located at a strategic crossing site of the Jordan River - which meant that the city controlled the ancient trade routes from the East. In Jesus’ day, a lot of money passed through Jericho and so, being the chief tax collector, Zacchaeus held a very lucrative position. He likely owned one of the finest villas in the area and his table was filled with the finest delicacies. His closets filled with the finest attire. Despised by his fellow Jews, he had likely hardened his heart against their words and actions. He lived a very a comfortable, lavish life in a world without safety nets - so why would he want to see and hear Jesus?
I suspect it was more than curiosity. Curiosity alone would likely not drive a man of his standing and position to climb a tree like a child in order to see Jesus. Curiousity would not explain how quickly Zacchaeus confessed he defrauded people and was wiling to make amends.
No, the Holy Spirit was working on Zacchaeus before Jesus even entered the town. Zacchaeus’ conscience was pained with guilt and his life was riven with anxiety. Most likely, he could relate to the psalmist when he writes:
For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.
Zacchaeus had been awakened. His spirit had been convinced that he was in a bad place and that he needed a savior.
Zacchaeus was on a mission that day - he was seeking the Lord. And when Jesus called him out of that tree and to himself, we witness the power of God’s convincing grace:
I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.
Here is the other part of this beautiful story. Zacchaeus thought he was seeking Jesus, when actually it was Jesus seeking Zacchaeus. Jesus walked into Jericho that day with a plan in mind - I’ve got to find Zacchaeus because I must go to his house today. God knew this was the day of salvation for ol’ Zack.
For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.
I hope that each of us are already in what Wesley called the “evangelical state” - that we are all born again. But that may not be the case. Maybe there are some who are awakened, but not adopted in to God’s family. You are under conviction, you know you are not living in right relationship with God, but you have been unwilling to surrender your life to Jesus and receive God’s gift of grace. The allure of sin and fear of what it means to surrender is keeping you in a state of guilt and anxiety.
You do not need to fear, God’s perfect love will drive out all fear. The world cannot give you what only Christ can provide. Listen to what Jesus is speaking to you right now…
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
If this message is convicting you, it is because the Holy Spirit is at work in your life and God the Father wants you to join His family.
Come to Jesus.
Let us pray.
