The Scandalous Mercy of God
Notes
Transcript
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 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. 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.
The Basis of the Gospel is God’s Righteousness and this Righteousness Appears Scandalous
The Basis of the Gospel is God’s Righteousness and this Righteousness Appears Scandalous
What do I mean by scandalous?
Disclaimer...
You may disagree with how I illustrate God’s love and mercy through the word “scandalous”—that’s okay (you are not wrong to do so—to a point, I disagree with the use of the word)
My goal is to pull an emotion from you that is rooted in an unbiblical perspecitive.
Therefore, this completely understanding of this term that CANNOT describe God; however, a single aspect of the word scandalous CAN describe how God’s mercy in judgment could appear scandalous.
Again, If we go too far with this word, we will quickly lose focus and fall into the trap of misrepresenting God.
Consequently, the perspective I want to give you is that of a peer of God—but God has no peers!
This exercise is intended for us to see what, I believe, Paul sees and understands and, thus, forms an immense basis of gratitude within him for Jesus.
However, I believe many of us struggle to connect to Paul’s philosophy in Romans; thus we easily become confused.
Thus, my goal is to pull out and discard a deep-seated resent for God based upon a high view of ourselves; in turn, I want to replace it with a high view of God that marvels over God’s love and mercy extended to us!
Scandalous = (defined)
“Causing general public outrage through a perceived moral/legal offense.”
“Acting in a manner viewed as disgraceful, distasteful, bad, or irresponsible.
Stated Succinctly...
The volume of mercy and grace that God extends to us, in any other setting, is deemed scandalous!
The volume of mercy and grace that God extends to us, in any other setting, is deemed scandalous!
Our sin against God is so grievous, that to pardon it appears irresponsible (but almost never is considered that way!)
Should someone wrong us the way we wrong God, we would NEVER offer reconciliation or forgiveness. Think about it...
Many people divorce because they are unable to pardon infractions such as:
Adultery
Physical Abuse
Deception, Neglect, and Abandonment
Irreconcilable Differences
Many terminate friendships daily because of the inability to look past:
The faults of others
The repeated wounds recieved from others
The refusal to look past differences and philosophies
Many families are torn apart due to:
Arguments
Material Possessions and Inheritances
Jealousy and Strife
Different Worldviews and Beliefs
What we see is this… WE STRUGGLE TO FORGIVE AND RECONCILE WITH OTHERS—ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY REPEATEDLY WOUND US…SHOULD WE DO SO REPEATEDLY, THOSE AROUND US WOULD THINK US CRAZY BECAUSE SUCH A DEMONSTRATION OF MERCIFUL LOVE IS UNCOMMON.
However, when it comes to God, we lose sight of the incredible nature of His love and mercy because we think:
We are worth saving
We think our sins are not that bad
We expect God to be okay with our failures and sins
We expect God to forgive because He is God.
However, we do not realize that such thinking lessens the majesty, marvelousness, and uniqueness of God!
The point is this… WE NEVER DESERVE TO BE FORGIVEN FOR THE PROLIFIC SIN WE COMMIT AGAINST GOD; THEREFORE, WHEN GOD FORGIVES US THIS SHOULD CAUSE US TO SEE THE ABSURDITY AND SCANDAL OF GOD’S LOVE !
Hear me… I am not saying that God is wrong or that His love is scandalous or absurd...
However, I am saying that it SHOULD appear that way to us when we see the incredible nature of our sin against God!
We must learn to view ourselves in our proper position before God!
Who are we that God should forgive us?
Who are we that God should invite us in?
Who are we that God should bless us?
Who are we that God should work for our good?
Who are we but wretched men and women saved by God!
The fact we do not marvel over the scandalous mercy of God demonstrates we do not view our sin within its proper context!
(Illustration) Think of it like this…
When a child is repeatedly arrested and his parents repeatedly bail him out...
When that same child repeatedly steals from his parents, and his parents repeatedly replace what is stolen...
When that child repeatedly curses and belittles his parents, abuses them, and lies to them though his parents are fully aware of this...
When that same child victimizes his brothers and sisters, extended family, and friends, even though his parents know this all...
When mom and dad refuse to cut this child off, suffer repeated losses, and are willfully abused—this is what scandalous love looks like!
No one would argue the child deserves anything from his parents
No one would argue that the parents should extend anymore COSTLY mercy to such a reprehensible being
No one would argue that the parents would be wrong for cutting the child off
Some would argue that the child deserves to die
Some would argue that the parents are irresponsible for not being more harsh on the child!
Scandalous love is the type of love that others see and cannot understand.
They cannot conceptualize why you would continue to suffer and extend mercy to the one who repeatedly abuses you with your knowledge of abuse!
They cannot conceptualize why the child is not strictly punished in the immediate context.
They cannot conceptualize the continual support and kindness extended to the child
Those who demonstrate Scandalous love face constant attack and antagonism for their actions:
Such people are attacked by their communities for not cutting off the violator at their personal timing
Such people are ridiculed for suffering instead of demonstrating wrath
Such people are viewed as weak and powerless
Such people are constantly counseled, tempted, or incited to exact wrath on the violator
Such people are incredibly difficult for us to understand!!!
We all tend to view God’s nature, actions, and love as Scandalous!
However, we must understand…
Our Erroneous Views of God Impact Our Devotion to and Desire for God.
Our Erroneous Views of God Impact Our Devotion to and Desire for God.
Erroneous views of God within the body of Christ: (WE EXPECT THE WORLD TO HAVE A BROKEN VIEW OF GOD!)
God is not fair = “Why is this happening to me?”
God is not compassionate = “I prayed, but God did not help me!”
God is not powerful = “Why doesn’t God just fix the problems of society?”
God is not involved = “Why does God not show himself to us or stop all the pain?”
The sad truth is that a rebellion against God is constantly present within us:
We think that just because we do not commit the “big sins” we are actually good people.
However, the only big sin in most Christian’s eyes are the ones we think we don’t commit:
Murder
Homosexuality
Illegal Drug Use
The truth is, that at any given moment, we commit a plethora of sins!
Additionally, there are numerous sin within us that we are blind to because these sins underpin our worldview; thus, we are unaware of them:
Pride: Finding pleasure and deep satisfaction in our own work, achievements, qualities, character, skills, and pleasure.
Arrogance: The belief that we are better than others!
Prejudice: Opinions that are not based upon fact, reason, or experience—we devalue others without reason to do so.
Egocentrism: The inability to understand the worldview, opinions, and viewpoints of others—so we think they are inherently wrong
Self-assurance: The belief that we are inherently capable of living and achieving within this life—we believe we need no one!
Self-righteousness: The belief that everything we do and adhere to is right or superior just because we hold to it or do it!
When we combine our low view of God with our high view of self and our low views of others, we experience several consequences:
Consequences of our Erroneous Views of God, self, and others:
A diminished and unimpressive view of God that causes us to ignore God.
A distorted view of self that causes us to worship ourselves more than God
A disinterested and demeaning view of the Church that causes us to distance ourselves from others
A disengagement from our God assigned mission in order to do our own things
So… what does all this mean? Why does this matter?
Knowledge of our sin and failures is not the point of the Bible!
There is a line of thought within modern Christianity that dwells on actualizing self
Self-discovery
Self-improvement
Self-talk
There is a line of thought within modern Christianity that dwells on the demented self
Identification of Sins
Human Strategies for Addressing Sins
Degrading Self because of Sin
Constant Discussion of Sin and Failures
Word of Clarification:
We are not against fighting sin within us and overcoming destructive tendencies; however, we NEVER place self-improvement over knowledge of God and abiding in Him.
God alone can give us the strength to overcome personal sin
God alone can empower others to encourage us to overcome sin
God alone can establish salvation and sanctification resulting in eternal life.
A Broken view of God and Christianity results in either:
Destructive self-improvement (legalism)
Destructive self-gratification (immorality)
Only in Christ is there a perfect harmony between God saving us for life and God empowering us to grow in life.
The Point of Scripture is to Introduce us to our Glorious God and HIs Salvific Work
The Point of Scripture is to Introduce us to our Glorious God and HIs Salvific Work
Think about this...
Our awareness of our sin reveals our need of redemption and rescue.
Our awareness of God reveals to us our the source of redemption and rescue.
A awareness of a problem is not the solution to the problem, the solution to the problem is almost always comes from outside the problem.
Cancer? Doctors, medicine, surgery, radiation, and chemo are often the solution—the person with cancer is not the solution to cancer.
Hunger? Food! The person who is hungry cannot feed on themself—this leads to death from starvation!
Poverty? Possession or others is the solution. We need others to teach us, train us, equip us, and buy from us in order to end poverty.
Relational Discord? We lean on our experiences with others, books, counsel, etc. in order to overcome the hurdles in present relationships! Additionally, we need the other person to desire peace to achieve peace!
What about SIN?
What about SIN?
We sin because we are sinners.
We are not good people who mess up, we are bad people who continually commit evil against God!
Paul established this fact in the first three chapters of Romans.
Because we are sinners, we need someone who is not mired in the filth of sin to pull us out of our sin—OUR RESCUE WILL NOT COME THROUGH OURSELVES!
We have no ability to pay for our sins— good and evil do not balance each other out!
A murderer CANNOT pay off his debt by planting trees, feeding puppies, clothing the homeless, feeding the hungry. (WHY?)
The murderer killed a person and violated that person’s right to life and the family who lost their loved one.
Consequently, the one who was wronged must choose to accept the crime and offer forgiveness, mercy, and grace.
It is morally wrong and deficient for us to decree those who wronged another (not ourselves) are to be granted a pardon! Even our courts know this!
Now that we’ve made it through this incredibly long introduction…let’s read from Romans again and begin unpacking this text:
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 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. 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.
Four Aspects of God’s Righteousness:
The Righteousness of God is Manifested Uniquely
The Righteousness of God is Realized through Faith
The Righteousness of God is Present Throughout History
The Righteousness of God is Expressed through His Work
First, let’s define “Righteousness”
diakaiosyne = (BDAG)
The Essence of Equality: The quality associated with fairness and equity in judgement and judicial responsibility.
The Essence of Mercy: The quality associated with correct actions within the judicial work of redemption.
The Essence of Moral Purity: The quality associated with correct, upright behavior.
What we know and experience in part, God is the fullness and absolute reality of this quality.
The Righteousness of God is Manifested Uniquely
The Righteousness of God is Manifested Uniquely
The Key descriptor of God’s Righteousness is that it has been MANIFESTED.
Manifest (GK phaneroo) =
Means to make clear,
to reveal,
to disclose,
to expose,
to make known.
to be manifest is to become clearly visible
As we look at this word, we realize that the righteousness of God was not fully visible until the incarnation of Jesus Christ.
The reality of God naturally known, but His qualities are not FULLY or CLEARLY seen in creation
The physical universe demands a God, but it does not identify God.
The presence or morality demands a God, but the reality of evil clouds our understanding.
The presence of love demands a God, but the reality of discord confuses love for us.
The reality of various types of relationships demands a God, but the reality of self-exaltation distorts the nature of relationships.
Historically, there is a desire to know, appease, and seek favor from the spiritual, but there is—equally—a blindness towards how to worship/pay tribute.
The qualities, character, and will of God must be revealed and not discovered!
Humanity is unable to discover God
Humanity is unable to perceive God
Humanity is unable to define God
Humanity is unable to grasp God
Humanity is unable to reach God
Humanity is unable to ignore God—we will worship something!
Scripture reveals the story of God revealing Himself!
The Bible is not about you, it is about God.
The Bible does not tell you how to fix yourself, it tells you about the One who fixes us.
The Bible does not tell you how to win the favor of God, the Bible tells you how to walk in it.
The Bible does not tell you to actualize your self-envisioned dreams, it points us how to abide in the One who paid for our sins!
Stated differently, God has progressively revealed Himself to humanity throughout the history of humanity and contained in the Bible.
He revealed HIs desire to interact with humanity (Adam)
He revealed His intolerance of sin (Adam)
He revealed His mercy and compassion (Cain)
He revealed His protection and grace (Noah)
He revealed HIs provision and care (Abraham)
He revealed His faithfulness to His word (Jacob)
He revealed His name (Moses)
He revealed His ability to Rescue and Redeem (Israel)
He revealed His holiness and inability to approach (the Law)
He revealed His Kingship (David)
He revealed His Fatherly and Disciplinary Love (The Exile)
He revealed Himself (Jesus)
He revealed His Salvific Love (The Cross)
He revealed His abiding Presence (The Holy Spirit)
HE WILL REVEAL HIS ETERNAL POWER (The Second Coming)
Even now, in our salvation and to a lesser degree, God progressively reveals Himself to us as we read, pray, and worship.
The Bible reveals God to us by showing us His character and work through the recorded interactions with others
In prayer God changes our hearts by His Spirit through our thoughts, emotions, and perceptions.
In the church, God works in us through others.
In the world, we see God work through us for others.
None of us are saved and immediately mature; instead, we grow in Christ through Christ
The Righteousness of God is Realized through Faith
The Righteousness of God is Realized through Faith
The Righteousness of God is Present Throughout History
The Righteousness of God is Present Throughout History
The Righteousness of God is Expressed through His Work
The Righteousness of God is Expressed through His Work