Dealing with Fallenness Well

Focus on Succeeding Like Christ

We love to talk in church about what it means to follow Christ well, and for good reason! For Paul says to the church in Corinth:

1 Corinthians 11:1 ESV

Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

And the apostle John wrote to the church in Asia minor:

1 John 2:6 ESV

whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

And this should absolutely be our number 1 goal as Christians, to spend every day glorifying God and becoming more like Christ, but how do our human failures fit in to that picture?

Jesus is the perfect example for us in how to live as Christians in very area of our life but one. Jesus could now show us how to recover from when we fall short, when we let God down, because He is perfect!

And tonight that’s what I’d like to talk about, how to deal with our human brokenness with grace. And while this is probably the one thing that Jesus couldn’t show us how to do well, praise God we have EVERY OTHER CHARACTER IN THE BIBLE to show us all about how to fall short of the standard that Jesus set.

Paul - Don’t Dwell in your Failure

Stephen

Stephen was chosen to speak boldly for God, and he spoke with such power through the Holy Spirit that he could not be ignored, so the leaders had him stoned.

Acts 6:8–12 ESV

And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council,

Acts 6:8

And while he stood trial, Stephen spoke boldly for God

Acts 7:51–53 ESV

“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.”

And he was stoned, with Saul’s approval, and Saul goes on to ravage the church.

Acts 8:1–3 ESV

And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.

Acts 8:1-3

Until Saul is confronted by Jesus

Acts 9:2–5 ESV

and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

Acts 9:2-

And when Saul was convicted of his failures by Jesus, he was baptized as soon as he was able and immediately proclaimed Jesus.

Acts 9:18–22 ESV

And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; and taking food, he was strengthened. For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.

Acts 9:

Saul, who became Paul, was convicted of his wrongdoing by Jesus himself, and rather than moping about how bad he was he IMMEDIATELY was baptized and began preaching. Let us also take such advantage of God’s forgiveness to dive RIGHT IN to His work when He sets us free.

John Mark - Come Home

John leaves on the first missionary journey with Saul and Barnabas.

Acts 13:5 ESV

When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them.

Acts

But John ditches the mission while they were in Pamphylia.

Acts 13:13 ESV

Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John left them and returned to Jerusalem,

We’re not told why, but we can infer that it was under less than good conditions because on the second missionary trip:

Acts 12:

Acts 15:36–39 ESV

And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus,

John Mark sowed such difficulty between Saul and Barnabas that the long time companions split.

Acts 15:36-

Ironic that Paul, who himself jumped right into preaching the Gospel when he was confronted by Christ, refused to accept John Mark on their second trip. But we can also infer that John Mark wanted to accompany them on this trip, he returned to the mission that he had previously deserted.

Paul, the former militant persecutor of the church, had to be an intimidating fella. The early church knew firsthand how he could treat those he thought were going against God, but John Mark returned anyway, he came home. Do you feel like your sin is keeping you from coming home? From fully participating in the body of Christ? I encourage you to be like John Mark and return to the mission, there’s still work to be done.

Barnabas/Paul - Welcome the Lost Home

Now which one of these men do you think treated John Mark the way Jesus would? Barnabas or Paul? How do we treat our Christian brothers or sisters who have fallen into sin? Are we a Barnabas or a Paul?

For Paul’s part, he eventually got over his beef with John Mark. When writing to Timothy from a Roman prison later in his life, he specifically requested John Mark’s presence.

2 Timothy 4:

2 Timothy 4:11 ESV

Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry.

Conclusion

We all fail God, every single one of us here, it’s part of our human brokenness. The funny part is while we are often shocked by our sin, God never is.

He knew every sin we would commit against Him even as he lovingly knit us together in our mother’s womb. He knew every offense we would commit against His creation even as he spoke it into existence.

Jesus knew exactly how we would take His sacrifice for granted even His executioners hammer the nail through His hands, yet He didn’t whisk Himself away from suffering for our sins. Instead, He took all of our sin upon Himself, so that we could come home, rejoin the mission, and proclaim Him boldly.

In closing, I make the same request that Paul made to the church at Corinth:

2 Corinthiasn 5:20-21

2 Corinthians 5:20–21 ESV

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.