A Journey of Grace: Saving Grace

Sin is the Reason

Prevenient Grace-grace that goes before, grace that seeks and saves the lost. Today we’re going to talk about God’s saving grace. When we respond in faith to God’s prevenient grace we experience God’s saving grace. Why do we need God’s saving grace? Sin is the reason.

Romans 3:21–26 NLT

21 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. 22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. 23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, 26 for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.

-What is Sin

Sin is Rebellion.

Rebellion is the attitude of self sovereingty. “Nobody is going to tell me what to do” or your not the boss of me.

Isaiah 53:6 NRSV

6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Sin is Enslavement

The word sin comes from the greek word harmartia which means to miss the target. It’s a term that use to be used in archery which means you missed. In archery you can get good enough that you almost always hit your target.

Unfortunately when it comes to the mark, or target God has set for us, there is nothing on our own we can do to hit the target. The mark God has set for us is this: love the LORD your God with all you heart, mind, soul, and strength, and at the same time love your neighbor as you love yourself.

Because in and of ourselves we cannot hit God’s mark we find ourselves constantly missing. We are slaves to sin because no matter how hard we try we will always miss the mark.

Sin is Estrangement

Sin breaks relationships. Whether they are personal relationships or our relationship with God. When we have wronged someone there is estrangement in that relationship that has taken place that can be hard to mend. Because we fail to live up to God’s glorious standard all humanity has a broken relationship with God. Our sin has estranged us from God our father.

“This is our predicament. Sin is rebellion. Sin is enslavement. Sin is estrangement. How are we ever going to make all that right again? What are we supposed to do with all that sin?”- David Busic- Way Truth Life

Sin effects everyone. It doesn’t matter if your rich or poor. Jew or gentile. All have sinned and fallen short of God’s glorious standard. This is why we, why you why all of creation desperately need God’s saving grace.

In Luke we see two very different testimonies of God’s saving grace at work. From their stories we can see how God’s saving grace, salvation has liberated them from sin and made them whole.

A Tale of Two Sinners

Romans 6:23 NRSV

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Blind Bart-

-A poor beggar- Mark 10:46-52

-Jesus! Son of David have mercy on me! (making this loud proclamation might upset the Romans especially as Jesus makes his way to Jerusalem.)

-Determination

-Healed by faith

-Life transformed

Zacheus

-A more clear cut sinner

-Got rich off the backs of others by collecting more taxes than necessary.

-Collected taxes for the Romans, traitor

-To even associate with him would have been a violation of the law.

-Shunned and rejected by his community

-Eagerly seeks Jesus

-Jesus risked his reputation by going into his home and eating with him.

-This encounter with Christ completely transformed the life of Zacheus.

-Saving grace not only saves us from the penalty of sin but raises us to new life in Christ.

Response of Both

Blind Bart and Zacheus both eagerly couldn’t wait to see Jesus. Nothing was going to stop them. Blind Bart after being told to be quiet shouted all the louder until he got Jesus attention.

Zacheus being short and desperately wanting to see Jesus climbed a tree to get a view. Nothing was stopping these two from seeing Jesus. Both respond in faith. Bart acknowledges who Jesus is as the son of David and because of his faith he receives his sight and follows Jesus.

Zacheus, responds in faith because of the compassion Christ showed him. When Jesus entered Zacheus home sat down at the table with him he put his reputation on the line. It was a response in faith when Zacheus called Jesus lord. It was here where God’s saving grace transformed the life of Zacheus.

Jesus on his way to Jerusalem and to the cross, transformed the lives of blind Bart and Zacheus. This is what the work of God’s saving grace does.

God’s Saving Grace

What are we supposed to do with all that sin? How do we make things right again? How can we like blind Bart and Zacheus have a complete life transformation? It’s not by keeping the law or anything else that we can do. The answer to that question is the best news in all of scripture. God through our Lord Jesus Christ made a way for our rebellion to be forgiven, for our enslavement to sin to end, and for our estranged relationship with God to be reconciled.

1 Corinthians 15:3–4 NLT

3 I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.

For Blind Bart receiving his sight and following Jesus was new life for him. For Zacheus receiving with joy Jesus into his home, recognizing how he had wronged people, making it right, becoming an honest tax collector and accepted into the family of Abraham was new life for him.

The saving grace God is not just Jesus paying the wages for our sin, and punching our ticket to heaven. Our reconciled relationship with God like any other relationship takes work. God’s work of grace in our lives continues to transform us and without it we can never hit God’s mark, which is to live like Christ.