Sermon Tone Analysis

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.

D. God offers us a personal relationship of self-giving love, not a system of rules and regulations.

-`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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

ii.

Christian faith is an act of trust and self-denial; we take up the cross and follow a risen Lord.

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.

i. Saving faith serves as the foundation for obedience and good works; it does not result from them.

John

ii.

The disciples experienced the life-giving grace of God and invite us to receive it as well.

iii.

After accepting God’s grace, believers join Christ’s mission of teaching, baptizing, and making disciples.

Matthew 28:

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