Justifying Grace
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Justifying Grace
Justifying Grace
When I was a Senior in High School I did what was called concurrent enrollment. This meant that I went half the day to my high school and half the day to a local Jr. College. It was in January of that year that I started my College Psychology class. The first day of class rolled around and I knew about 7 people in the class that were either current or former classmates of mine in High School. I sat with 2 of my buddies on the first day and low and behold as the class started to fill up this tall, dark headed girl came in and sat beside my friend, two seats down from me. Her name I would find out was Beth.
As the semester went on we divided up into study groups. And she joined me and my friends from my high school in our study group, she went to the high school across town from us and didn’t know anyone else in the class. After one of our group study sessions one day I decided I was going to ask her out to eat. So I did and she said no. I was taken back a little bit because not many people said no to going to lunch with me but she did. So I waited a couple of weeks and asked again. Again the answer came back NO.
At this point, I almost gave up. It was a little over halfway through the semester and I decided I would ask one more time. I wore some of my nicer jeans, I put on a button-down shirt. I washed my truck. I really went all out on this one. I waited until we were leaving the library after meeting in our study group and I said, “Hey, I know I’ve asked you before but I figured I’d try one more time. Would you like to go grab a bite to eat with me?” It was the longest moments of my life waiting for her response as we stood outside the library, and she finally said: “Sure, I’ll go.” This past Thanksgiving marked our 10-year wedding anniversary and it was possible because I didn’t stop asking, and she said “Yes.”
My name is David Lee, and the title of this talk is JUSTIFYING GRACE.
1. God offers us a relationship of unconditional love and grace.
A. In the beginning God created the world, the cosmos and all things in it-including human beings, us, and God saw that it was good.
1) While poor choices separate us from God and diminish our spiritual lives, Adam and Eve and the choice of eating the fruit in the Garden, or as in the case of the separation of the prodigal son from the loving father in . God’s gifts of love and grace are greater than all our wrong choices, that we call sin.
2) Because God created us in God’s image and designed us for relationship with God, nothing else can satisfy our soul- no matter how big your bank account is, no matter how many sexual partners you have, and no amount of power and control you have over others. Will ever satisfy your real need. The need for a relationship with your creator.
B. The Bible’s central theme tells the story of God calling us back into the relationship for which we were created.
C. Jesus called people to accept the relationship God offers them.
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
1 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
D. God offers us a personal relationship of self-giving love, not a system of rules and regulations.
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
-`2
II. Our acceptance of the relationship
A. Justifying grace begins its work the moment we say yes to the relationship God offers us in Christ. Our acceptance changes everything.
In the story of the prodigal son, we witness justifying grace in the prodigal’s turning from his misery and returning home. Likewise, our return home restores our eternal relationship with the One who knows and loves us better than we know and love ourselves.
Luke
20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.
ii. Using the analogy of courtship, when we accept God’s grace, we say yes to the One who has been wooing and pursuing us, desiring a relationship with us. As in courtship, saying yes changes the nature of the relationship completely. Love wins, and yes marks the beginning of a lifelong commitment to marriage and a shared life. The commitment to this human relationship resembles our eternal commitment to Christ and the church.
iii. Responding to grace is an act of faith. We do nothing to merit a relationship with God.
Romans
21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
27 Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
iv. Salvation is instantaneous and continuous. We may accurately state the following: I was saved by grace. I am saved by grace. I will be saved by grace.
B. In scripture, this spiritual experience of justifying grace is also known as salvation, healing, conversion, having sin forgiven, and being born again.
C. We see justifying grace in the cross of Christ. He gave His life to prove God’s love for us.
6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
romans
i. Jesus’ sacrifice for us on the cross restored our relationship with God (symbolized by the vertical line in the cross.)
ii. Christ also restored our relationship with neighbor (symbolized by the horizontal line in the cross.
18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
D. Conversion continues as we keep saying yes to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. This process involves us as we pursue the following:
i. come to understand ourselves better and acknowledge our continual need for Christ;
ii. come to understand God better and seek more earnestly for God’s will in our lives; and
iii. practice the essential spiritual discipline of prayer, scripture reading, meditation, and active obedience in the ongoing conversion of our will to God’s will.
III. God’s activity and our response.
A. Justifiying grace requires a double acceptance.
i. God said yes to us in Creation and again in the cross. Christ died for us while we were yet sinners, thus proving God’s unconditional love and acceptance of us.
Romans
6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
ii. We say yes to the relationship God offers us in Christ.
B. God addresses our intellect; we respond in faith. Faith is a reasonable response to God’s revelation.
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
C. God appeals to our wills; by grace we freely choose.
i. God does not dictate our response; we freely decide, an act of the will
Rev
20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
ii. Christian faith is an act of trust and self-denial; we take up the cross and follow a risen Lord.
24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?
D. God touches our hearts; we respond with love and enthusiasm. However, we don not depend upon feelings or trust in our emotions.
E. God calls us to be disciples of Jesus Christ; we respond with trust and obedience.
Matt.
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?”
i. Saving faith serves as the foundation for obedience and good works; it does not result from them.
John
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
ii. The disciples experienced the life-giving grace of God and invite us to receive it as well.
1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. 3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. 4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. 8 And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.
iii. After accepting God’s grace, believers join Christ’s mission of teaching, baptizing, and making disciples.
Matthew 28:
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
iv. Spiritual disciplines reflect a faithful response to justifying grace; as we follow the spiritual practices of Jesus, we become more like him.
IV. Introduction of agape
A. God moves us to the point of acceptance, healing, salvation, or conversion through the loving acts of other Christians.
B. This God-love is called agape, the Greek word for God’s unconditional, gracious love. We can never earn or deserve God’s love; it is a gift of grace.
C. During this weekend, Christians will express unconditional love to you in sacrificial ways by praying, serving, and performing other acts of agape-you will know more clearly how much God loves you.
D. Emmaus Communities from across the nation and around the world have sent letters and other forms of communication to let you know about this agape love.
De Colores!
