Rom 11-In View of Gods Mercy

| In View of God’s Mercy! Romans 11:32 – 12:1

January 20, 2008 32God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all. 33Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! 34“Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” 35“Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?” 36For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. 12 1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.  PRAY Scripture Memory:For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. – Romans 11:36 (NIV) Intro:Mercy is a funny thing. We delight when mercy is shown to us. We delight when mercy is shown to someone who strikes us as loveable. We (at least SOME of us) don’t mind when mercy is shown to those whose offense has little or no connection with us, like when a judge gives a person probation rather than a prison sentence after a minor offense.Yet, we cringe when mercy is shown to those who are clearly guilty, to those who clearly deserve what they have coming to them.Oftentimes we are thankful for mercy WE received, while at the same time, or in identical circumstances, we wish for justice rather than mercy for others, like when we break some traffic law…Romans 12:1 – the climax of the book – Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 1. Mercy and Disobedience2. Mercy and Mystery3. Mercy and Response 1. Mercy and Disobedience (11:32)God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all. ☞ Question 1: Why did God allow the fall?The goal of redemption: the glory of God’s mercy – Mercy in the face of disobedience☞ Question 2: What resulted from the fall?By their fall all mankind lost fellowship with God and brought His anger and curse on themselves. They are therefore subject to all the miseries of this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell forever. (Shorter Catechism Question 19)The goal of men/women in our fallen nature: independenceAs my heart is focused on building my own righteousness, my heart is focused on standing independent of God. What I want is some answer that doesn’t require relationship with Him and moment by moment dependence. (Josiah Bancroft)Believers must repent for their being discouraged by their sins. (Thomas Brooks) Explain… - This is a manifestation of self-consumption, pride…The truth of the matter is you and I are more concerned with looking good than actually truly being good. (Dave Desforge)For some of us life becomes one long struggle to be what we know all too well we are not. (Stanley Voke)“God, please make me the kind of person my dog thinks I am.”Ashleigh Brilliant, that odd vestige of the seventies who scribbled his offbeat humor on hippie postcards, once penned: "All I ask of life is a constant and exaggerated sense of my own importance."12:1 – in view of God’s mercy… literally: because of God’s abundant mercies—that is, because he has been so good to us in so many ways… ☞ Examples of the impact of God’s mercy on disobedient sinners:Adam – “God had told Adam and Eve that they would die, but they had not died, There had been judgments, of course, consequences. Sin always has consequences. But they had not been struck down; and, in fact, God had even announced the coming of a Redeemer who one day would crush Satan’s head and undo his work. Even more, God had illustrated the nature of Christ’s atonement by killing animals, the innocent dying for the guilty, and then by clothing Adam and Eve with the animals’ skins.” (James Boice) “Adam must have been overwhelmed by an awareness of God’s mercy. Adam deserved to die, but instead of killing him, God spared him and promised a Savior insead.” (James Boice) Paul – 1 Tim. 1:15-16 (NLT) – This is a true saying, and everyone should believe it: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—and I was the worst of them all. 16 But that is why God had mercy on me, so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.  John Newton – Amazing grace…In his later years, his mind began to fail and he had to stop preaching. But he frequently remarked to those who came to visit him: “I am an old man. My mind is almost gone. But I can remember two things: I am a great sinner, and Jesus is a great Savior.” 2. Mercy and Mystery (11:33-36)33Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! 34“Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” 35“Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?” 36For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. The glory of God’s mercy in The goal of redemption – Mercy in the face of disobedienceThe glory of God’s mercy in the contrast of justice:– Mercy in contrast to just judgment / Mercy in contrast to knowledgeMercy is a natural and necessary outflow of God’s all-sufficiency, especially in light of our neediness.The point: If God is, indeed, all-sufficient, He does not need ANYTHING from anyone. He does not need our love. He does not need our worship. He does not need our obedience or our sacrifice. By all rights He should have just let us go the course of our sinful choice: independence and autonomy from Him.Hell is, when all is said and done, a self-imposed judgment on those who hate God.Ultimately what is the difference between Heaven and Hell? – GOD  |   | A couple of important Questions: Do we WANT to know God?Do we see and acknowledge our neediness before God?Do we see and acknowledge the stark contrast between God’s mercy to us and what we deserve?We don’t like that! We want to feel, to believe, that we deserve better…It’s the righteousness of Christ credited to my account that frees me to be honest about my struggle and to not be crushed by it.  (Josiah Bancroft)I need the righteousness of Christ to make me confident enough to be honest about my sin—so I can make some progress with it. It doesn’t crush me. God doesn’t abandon me but He moves me forward through it. (Josiah Bancroft)For every one look at your sin, take ten looks at Jesus! (R. Murray McCheyne)☞ Only in Christ can a person fully and honestly acknowledge and even embrace their own shortcomings and come out a winner.☞ Only in Christ can a person be comfortable in the Presence of a God who knows ALL of our deep, dark secrets.☞ Only in Christ can a person be TRULY thankful for the abundant blessings God showers upon us, for only in Christ can we see how truly undeserving and yet unconditionally loved we are.Do you truly WANT God in your life, here this morning? Are you willing to acknowledge your desperate need for His unbelievable mercy and grace which is freely available to any who would call on Him…3. Mercy and Response (12:1)Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. The glory of God’s mercy in The goal of redemption:– Mercy in the face of disobedienceThe glory of God’s mercy in the contrast of justice:– Mercy in contrast to just judgment / Mercy in contrast to God’s all-encompassing knowledgeThe goal of mercy: living sacrifices☞ A true understanding of God’s mercy motivates God’s people to offer themselves as living sacrifices who delight to do God’s willWhoever is convicted that Christ is his only righteousness, does not only do his work cheerfully, gladly and well, but also, if necessary, submits to all kinds of burdens and dangers in this life with love because he knows this is God’s will, and God is pleased by his obedience. (Martin Luther)When we are cognizant of God’s great mercy to us in the face of our ongoing struggle with sin… The world would say “The reason to live a moral life is because you are going to get in trouble if you don’t.” or, “Because it is good for you” – what is the common denominator here? “YOU” –     “Faced with the question of what makes Christians tick, many unbelievers maintain that Christianity is practiced only out of self-serving purposes….” They see us as “fearing the consequences of not being Christians (religion as fire insurance), or feeling the need of help and support… (religion as a crutch), or wishing to sustain a social identity (religion as a badge of respectability).” (J. I. Packer)For many, I fear, this is all too true…Repenting of our repentance…“From the plan of salvation I learn that the true driving force in authentic Christian living is, and ever must be, not the hope of gain, but the heart of gratitude. (J. I. Packer) ☞ A true understanding of mercy motivates God’s people to offer themselves as living sacrifices which requires true humility and leaves no room for a critical or self-righteous spiritLiving Sacrifices are able to freely acknowledge their sin as well as their sinfulness.Walking by the Spirit gives us a whole new attitude toward our sin…. We are able to look at our sin because we are defined by the gospel and not our sin. (Jack Miller) ☞ A true understanding of mercy motivates God’s people to offer themselves as living sacrifices which requires true humility and leaves no room for complaining about our circumstances nor about other’s failures and shortcomings.☞ A true understanding of mercy leads to greater zeal and leaves no room for complacencyProsperity is no friend to a sanctified memory, and therefore we are cautioned, when we are full, lest we forget God. Noah, who had seen the whole world drowned in water, was no sooner safe on shore, and in the enjoyment of plenty, than he forgot God, and drowned himself in wine. – (William Gurnall)“Paul’s entreaty teaches us that men will never worship God with a sincere heart, or be roused to fear and obey him with sufficient zeal, until they properly understand how much they are indebted to his mercy.” (John Calvin)An improper, or warped view of mercy can lead to laziness, like the child who received the mercy of his/ her parents as though it were their right…Contrast many natural born citizens of the US with those who came here from other countries and have gone through the naturalization process…  Ephesians 2:1-7 (NLT) – 1Once you were dead, doomed forever because of your many sins. 2You used to live just like the rest of the world, full of sin, obeying Satan, the mighty prince of the power of the air. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3All of us used to live that way, following the passions and desires of our evil nature. We were born with an evil nature, and we were under God’s anger just like everyone else.4But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so very much, 5that even while we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6For he raised us from the dead along with Christ, and we are seated with him in the heavenly realms—all because we are one with Christ Jesus. 7And so God can always point to us as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us through Christ Jesus. (NIV: the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.)Isaac Watts: “Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all.” Summary / Review: The goal of redemption is that God’s glory might be seen in the amazingness of His mercy – Mercy in the face of disobedienceThe glory of God’s mercy is seen in the contrast of justice – Mercy in contrast to just judgment / Mercy in contrast to God’s all-encompassing knowledgeThe goal of God’s mercy: living sacrifices A Truth to Remember: God knows the worst of the worst about us and still He loves us and calls us His own. A Challenge to Consider: Does God’s amazing love and mercy to you motivate you to give your soul, your life, your all to Him?One thing I heard this morning was… |