Leave Grace Alone

Galatians 1:1-9

This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead.

2 All the brothers and sisters[a] here join me in sending this letter to the churches of Galatia.

3 May God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ[b] give you grace and peace. 4 Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live. 5 All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.

There Is Only One Good News

6 I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ.[c] You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News 7 but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ.

8 Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you. 9 I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed.

I’ve been cooking like a full blown housewife during this pandemic. I’m not a fan of cooking but here we are. So this week I decided to bake some cookies and would you believe I messed up the measurements and put too much salt in the cookies. Some of y’all were looking at me sideways because you’re like Pastor Kim! Really? How you gonna mess up cookies by adding too much salt?! When I bit into it, it was nasty. Disgusting. Because the amount of salt was unnecessary. I thought I could endure it but ended up throwing it away. This goes for any dish you’re cooking. Whether it’s too much of a wrong ingredient or a dish that’s missing the right ingredient, it’s a recipe for a disaster in your mouth. ESPECIALLY if you’re accustomed to the real thing that tastes good. I came to preach to anybody that’s been training their mouths to believe that bitter cookies tastes sweet. I came to preach to anybody that’s been opening up cooking schools attempting to teach people how to make these nasty cookies that look scrumptious on the outside but turns your stomach on the inside I came to preach to anybody that pats themselves on the back thinking they’re a better Christian because you enjoy bitter cookies.  Because the reality is this: You were created to enjoy the right cookie, not the wrong one. You were created to savor the cookie, not just stomach it. You were created to experience the cookie, not just tolerate it. But this isn’t the reality for many Christians. Many Christians come to church with their faces all contorted and harsh because the gospel doesn’t taste sweet to them. Yea, I didn’t come to preach about cookies this morning. I came to preach about the gospel. And the gospel is sweet to me.

The fact that Jesus extends his grace to me while I’m still struggling with sin, that’s sweet to me.  The fact that Jesus loves me when I was in love with my debilitating addictions, that’s sweet to me.  The fact that God found me attractive and lovable and worthy of his grace, not when I was a muscular Christian but he found me irresistible when I was a feeble, weak-kneed Christian. Oh that’s sweet to me.  The fact that God’s grace doesn't require me to be living on the mountaintop 24/7 with a plastered smile on my face but permits me to struggle through my difficult, depressing valleys, that’s sweet to me.  The fact God’s grace is not only reserved for the zealots who boast with the rich young ruler, “All these commandments I have kept from my youth” , that’s sweet to me.  The fact that God’s grace demands that I’m declared perfect even though I’m living an imperfect life, that’s sweet to me.  The fact that God’s grace declares I’m somebody even though my decisions prove I’m a nobody, that’s sweet to me.  The fact that God’s grace is available to the inconsistent, unsteady type of Christian who consistently, steadily messes up, that’s sweet to me. The fact that God’s grace is available to everybody who’s watching who feels like their life is a disappointment to God, that’s sweet to me.  Yes, whenever I bite into a “sweet” cookie I think about the sweetness of God’s amazing grace.   Talk to your neighbor and tell them “God’s grace is sweet!”  But somewhere along the way someone came along and turned the sweetness of God’s grace into something bitter and undesirable by adding ingredients that don’t belong in the recipe.  Somebody told us that the ingredients for God’s grace are insufficient.  Somebody told us that in addition to the perfect ingredients of salvation, we must add another ingredient – the letter of the law.

We needed to add our best intentions, our record church attendance, our ability to make gluten from scratch. our stellar community service.

Ah this upsets me. Because the cookie is good without anything extra!  You know who else was upset? The apostle Paul.  Most of Paul’s letters to the churches he established have a flowery, cordial, gracious introduction. He takes time to build up and encourage the church members:  “I thank God at the remembrance of you!” “Oh I long to see you!” But when you read verse 6 of Galatians chapter 1, Paul clearly has no time for pleasantries. And I’m just like Paul today.

I don’t have time right now to butter you up. Real preachers preach hard because they love hard. Paul had made such an unbelievable sacrifice for these babes in the faith. He almost lost his life to save these people so like any father who’s heavily invested in their children’s success, he goes hard for his children.  He gets straight to the point and articulates how profoundly disappointed and upset he is that the new followers of Jesus would deny the sweet grace of God and allow themselves to be deceived into believing a different gospel being spread by the Judaizers. The Judaizers were a legalistic group within the church that mingled with these new converts and whenever they had the chance they would tell these new members, “I know you accepted the gospel, I know you’re experiencing the joy of the Lord but in addition, you have to join our group. You need to be part of the circumcision group.”   These Judaizers were supposed to be nurturing these young babes in the faith but they ended up almost killing their hope in the saving gospel of Jesus Christ by adding an unnecessary ingredient. And so now these Christians have doubts! Am I really saved? Do I have to do all these things to be saved? How do I know if I’m saved for real if I gotta do all these things? And to this day, many Adventist Christians struggle with the assurance of their salvation. I asked the question in Bible study a couple weeks ago, do you know that you’re saved? And many of you weren’t sure. Many of us had doubts about our salvation in Christ.

I believe the reason why so many of us have doubts is because just like the church in Galatia, we’ve been deceived. And the deception is so subtle.

Nobody would every say “salvation is not by grace. It’s by works!” But they will say “Salvation is by grace and…” or “Salvation is by grace but you should do…” or Salvation is by grace but I have to live holy to be accepted by God. Salvation is by grace and doing community service. Salvation is by grace and keeping the Sabbath. Taking your earrings out. Reading the spirit of prophecy. Salvation is by grace but you shouldn't eat pork. Salvation is by grace but you should come to sabbath school. read your bible everyday. should know all the prophetic numbers and dates and signs.  should return your tithe. have your child go to SDA schools. should join pathfinders. shouldn’t be having sex before marriage. And that’s why we have doubts! Many of us have doubts because we were baptized into a denomination and not a relationship. We were baptized into a club and not a covenant. We committed to a lifestyle based on should and should not and not accepting the grace of God. So it’s difficult to imagine life outside of the membership checklist.  I’m just gonna call it out Any salvation that adds should is not the gospel! That’s a straight-up perverted, counterfeit, complicated gospel. You cannot add an inch to your salvation based on what you should or should not do. 

Any system based on the performance of your good works, the promise of your good works or the evidence of your good works is a counterfeit gospel. Any system based on requirements beyond believing in the saving grace of Jesus is not the gospel.  Even Jesus himself when he was here on earth, it wasn’t about what he should or should not do, it was about what he could do because of the relationship he had with his Father! EVERYTHING he did was connected to the deep, deep loving relationship he had with his Father. He NEVER acted outside of the relationship he had with his father. So it wasn’t about how many people he could heal, raise from the dead, etc. in his own strength! It was Jesus saying “Father I’m depending on you to be glorified in my life on earth.  It was about availing himself to the strength of his Father working through him. Oh what a joy to serve God out of freedom and not duty! Listen, I used to feel so guilty about missing a day of devotion. I used to feel guilty about not praying for hours. Felt guilty that I wasn’t getting strong enough in the ways of God quick enough. But God has to keep reminding me that there is no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus. God created me because he wants to spend a lifetime loving me!  God says I don’t want you to think you have to wake up every morning and talk to me, I want you to believe that you can because I love you! I don’t want you to think you have to earn my love. I want you to live in my love.

So what are you saying Minister Bulgin? Christians don’t need a little legalism to balance out the love? We don’t need a little rule book thrown in to balance them out and curb their sinful tendencies? Did the cookie need that extra ingredient? No. Simple. Resist the urge to complicate the recipe. True Christianity doesn’t need a little rulebook. Christianity doesn’t need a little checklist. 

Living with that mindset suggests if I did ninety-nine out of a hundred things right and one thing wrong - you fail.  But the gospel of grace says even though I did ninety-nine things WRONG, - I pass by putting faith in Jesus Christ!

Since the Bible isn’t enough…

-The danger has been presented to me again and again of entertaining, as a people, false ideas of justification by faith. I have been shown for years that Satan would work in a special manner to confuse the mind on this point. The law of God has been largely dwelt upon, and has been presented to congregations, almost as destitute of the knowledge of Jesus Christ and His relation to the law as was the offering of Cain. I have been shown that many have been kept from the faith because of the mixed, confused ideas of salvation, because the ministers have worked in a wrong manner to reach hearts. The point which has been urged upon my mind for years is the imputed righteousness of Christ. I have wondered that this matter was not made the subject of discourses in our churches throughout the land, when the matter has been kept so constantly urged upon me, and I have made it the subject of nearly every discourse and talk that I have given to the people.

There is not a point that needs to be dwelt upon more earnestly, repeated more frequently, or established more firmly in the minds of all, than the impossibility of fallen man meriting anything by his own best good works. Salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ alone. {1888 811.2}

So what do I do?

Take the word “should” out of your vocabulary.

When you see your husband, I guess I should give him a hug.

When your children ask for food, I guess I should feed them.

I should workout.

I should read my devotion.

I should go to church.

The mindset should be I get to do this! Because Jesus saved me. redeemed me. restored me. Look at what I get to do?!

Stop telling people what they should do. Stop telling yourself what you should do.

Take inventory of everything you’re doing. Am I doing this because I love the Lord or because I have to?

Many of your doubts and fear will be released because you’re operating from a space of what Christ has done and not what you have done.

Stop Controlling and Start believing

Stop trying to control your salvation with your actions. Stop trying to control the salvation of your children with their actions.

Because what happens is we end up lowering the standards of God’s holiness to a level we can control with our actions. and then we follow God’s principles, never perfectly, expecting blessings to come our way.

And instead do what the gospel writer John explained that “these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31). The word believe is used 98 times in the Gospel of John in explaining the way of salvation. It means to trust.

As humans, we have to come to God as sinners, recognize Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose again, and place our trust in Christ alone as our only way to heaven.

Now our spirit led actions may bear witness to our faith. But none of our actions have anything to do with salvation. We are only to place our trust in Christ alone to save us.

Believe you’re justified.

The grace of God allows you to grow everywhere! Even in the most despicable places. Even in the darkest places.  Why? Because you are justified in him. You don’t start growing when you’re perfect. You start growing when you’re a mess. The tree doesn’t start to grow in a clean environment. The tree starts to grow in a dirty environment. Justification doesn’t mean “just as if I’d never sinned”  Justification really means even though I still sin periodically and I have found myself unable to stop sinning on a permanent basis - God declared me righteous when I believed. And because I will continue to sin from time to time until Jesus comes back, I find all the more reason to be grateful for grace. Why am I grateful?

I’m grateful because Jesus took my place while I was still sinning

I’m grateful because Jesus became my Redeemer while I was still sinning

I’m grateful because Jesus became my Savior while I was still sinning.

Jesus carried a cruel cross up Golgotha’s hill while you were still sinning

Jesus had his feet nailed to the cross while I was still sinning

Jesus had his hands stabbed to the cross while I was still sinning

Jesus gave his head to a crown of thorns while I was still sinning

Jesus had his back whipped while I was still sinning.

Jesus died till the blood flowed from his forehead while I was still sinning

Jesus died till the blood flowed from his side while I was still sinning

Jesus died as a sinner who knew no sin while I was still sinning

I’m grateful Jesus laid down his life for me while I was still sinning because of the unwavering, unmoving, undiluted power of God’s grace!

You can't add anything to God’s grace to reduce its potency and strength.

So can we celebrate today because The grace of God is strong enough by itself.

The grace of God is powerful by itself! Leave grace alone and let it stand by itself!

Leave grace alone and let it deliver by itself.

Leave grace alone and let it set free by itself.

Leave grace alone and let it heal broken hearts by itself.

Leave grace alone and let it cause people to want to act right. Leave grace alone and allow it to set people free from sin and not free to sin.

Leave grace alone because where sin abounds, grace does more abound. Leave grace alone because it doesn’t need anything else. Leave grace alone because it doesn’t need any extra ingredients. Leave grace alone!

The only ingredients that makes God’s grace sweet is His love and our faith. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whosoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life. The only thing we have to offer is our faith. We just believe the nearly-too-good-to-be-true news that Jesus died for us and paid a debt we couldn’t pay and gave us a righteousness we couldn’t earn.  Do you trust in what you do for the Lord or what He has done for you? Have you been tricked into thinking that it’s Jesus plus you rather than Jesus or you?  Holy Spirit have your way. Humble our hearts to receive this truth today. Because once you understand this, it’ll transform the way you view God, the way you relate to God and the way that you receive from God.  Listen when you truly get a hold of the grace of God, I promise you, you’ll wind up living holier accidentally than you ever have on purpose. You’ll serve God out of love stronger than you ever would have out of legalism.  The only ingredients we need for grace are God’s love and our faith. His love is here. Where’s your faith? I pray that this church commits to demolishing the mansion of legalism and create a healthy space for grace to grow by itself.