Beginning at the Beginning 3 - Only through Jesus

Reading: John 1:16-18

From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.(John 1:16-18)

And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." (Genesis 3:15 NIV)

Intro: Grace

Contrast between law and grace. The law can’t change a heart.

If it’s up to us we’re doomed. We slip up too much. Sin is too insidiously wrapped up around us and what we do. We hardly notice our own sin most of the time--it’s sort of an immoral white noise that we’ve just gotten used to.

I. Religion is spelled DO

   A.   It seems we can Never do enough.

      1.   The list of “do’s” just gets longer.

      2.   We may feel like we’ve already done too much...wrong, that is--that somehow we have gotten too far away.

   B.   God is not like Santa Clause!

      1.   “You better watch out you better not cry...He sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you're awake, he knows if you’ve been bad or good so be good for goodness sake!”

      2.   God doesn’t have a “3 strikes you’re out” rule either.

   C.   This kind of religion wants to Control us.

      1.   Religious rules can be just ways to keep people in check.

      2.   Some religious leaders can tie us up in oughts. “If you were a real Christian...”

      3.   (Some of us can be a little too eager to point out the legalisms of others, without seeing our own.)

II.   Christianity is spelled DONE

   A.   Jesus Did it for us (Past tense!)
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:1-2 NIV)

      1.   “we have been justified..” (past, completed action to which no more can be added)

      2.   “have been justified” Passive voice too! (It happens to us)

   B.   God offers this grace Freely!

      1.   Gen 3:15 “I will...” God initiated the plan and carried it out.

      2.   If the price has been paid, there is no more price to pay!

      3.   The best things in Life are free; the best thing for eternal life is free too. (Life at its best!)

   C.   Grace means Undeserved Favor

      1.   You can’t earn something that by definition is given to those who don’t deserve it.

      2.   There is a big contrast between law and grace (John 1:17)

III. Only by God’s Grace, through Faith in Jesus.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

HC Q&A 60

How are you right with God?

Only by true faith in Jesus Christ. Even though my conscience accuses me of having grievously sinned against all God’s commandments and of never having kept any of them, and even though I am still inclined toward all evil, nevertheless, without my deserving it at all, out of sheer grace, God grants and credits to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ, as if I had never sinned nor been a sinner, as if I had been as perfectly obedient as Christ was obedient for me.

   A.   Faith is believing God Can and Will take care of us.

      1.   Jesus, as John notes, is full of grace

      2.   Jesus was committed to doing His Father’s will and understood it this way: “And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.” (John 6:39 NIV)

   B.   Faith is not simply Acquiescing

      1.   Faith is not knowing whether or not to circle the T or the F on a true false test.

      2.   Faith is not simply repeating back to the teacher the correct answer.

   C.   What we believe changes How we live.

      1.   If Billy Graham called and said he was stopping by for coffee tomorrow, would it change anything about this afternoon?

      2.   If you believe God is taking care of you, and has your eternity in His loving hands, are you going to have any big worries in life?

IV. What about doing good works?

   A.   Not the Roots but the Fruit.

      1.   Good works don’t earn us God’s favor.

      2.   We can't get God indebted to us!

   B.   You can tell a tree by its Fruit

      1.   Good works are the result of God working in your life.

      2.   Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 64:

HC Q&A 64

But doesn’t this teaching [about the ineffectuality of good works] make people indifferent and wicked?

No. It is impossible for those grafted into Christ by true faith not to produce fruits of gratitude.

   C.   Trusting God means trusting his Rules are for our Good.

      1.   Humanity has yet to improve on God’s guidelines for successful living.

The Bottom Line:

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