Act 4: Restoration

Introduction

How many of you have ever played a musical instrument? I’m not saying that you played it well, but have you ever attempted to play an instrument before? In high school, I had the chance to play trombone in the Ozark Marching Band. Band is wonderful for many reasons as you learn teamwork, discipline, patience, and respect as you go throughout the process of learning music, setting drill on the field, watching your drum major, and listening to your director. Because there are so many things going on, often times someone makes a mistake! Some people say that practice makes perfect, but that’s not true at all… Practice makes permanent. If you practice poorly, it doesn’t matter how many times you practice, you’ll never perfect… You’ll be permanently poor! You need to practice perfect in order to be perfect on game day. Because of this truth, regardless of what sport or activity or hobby you have, you have to practice well. During one band practice late at night, our director was pretty upset because we weren’t focused and were making silly mistakes. This spilled over to the band and, specifically, to myself as I was a leader and the students that I was responsible for weren’t being disciplined. This frustration eventually boiled over during a water break and I tossed my trombone onto the astroturf field.

Tossing an instrument of any kind is not a smart thing to do, but tossing a trombone is a dumb thing to do. As soon as I went back to my trombone after the break I realized that there was a problem… My trombone not only had a small dent in it, but it had a crack in the tubing! As the practice eventually came to a close I knew that I had to get the trombone fixed ASAP. I took it into a music store in Springfield and they were eventually able to fix it but it cost a good amount of money for the repair. After I got the trombone back I began to look over it and realized that the part that had cracked looked slightly different from the rest of the trombone. It was a slightly different color of metal than the rest! Even though it looked a little bit different on the outside, it played exactly like it used to before the accident.

The trombone had been restored to its original state thanks to some intense work and a relatively expensive price tag. The music company had devoted intentional effort to restore the trombone to how it used to be. Restoration simply means, “the returning of something or someone to their original state.” Just as this music company restored the trombone, if you are a Christian, Jesus Christ has restored you due to His work on the cross in your place! Through His redemption, we as humans have the hope of being returned to how things were in the Garden - intimacy with our Father face to face.

Last week we studied the cross as Jesus purchased our pardon by becoming a curse in our place! We studied how there is salvation only found in Jesus Christ. Today we are going to conclude our series on the main themes in the Bible and look at how Jesus is in the processing of restoring us and the entire world to our Father right now! Let’s examine the Word in Galatians 6 as the Bible says

Galatians 6:13–16 CSB

13 For even the circumcised don’t keep the law themselves, and yet they want you to be circumcised in order to boast about your flesh. 14 But as for me, I will never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The world has been crucified to me through the cross, and I to the world. 15 For both circumcision and uncircumcision mean nothing; what matters instead is a new creation. 16 May peace come to all those who follow this standard, and mercy even to the Israel of God!

Redemption Leads to Restoration (Romans 11)

How many ways are there to be saved? Let’s examine what different groups think about this question.

Atheists believe that no one is lost and that there is no God

Universalists believe that no one is lost and that God saves everyone

Pantheists believe that you and I are God

Many American “Christians” think that everyone goes to heaven as long as they do good works

The Bible stands out in the sense that it shares that there is only 1 way to God and that is by grace through faith in Christ. That’s it. That’s the only way that someone can be saved.

How many of you look up the fastest route to take whenever you’re about to go on a trip? Whenever you travel there are normally several different routes that you can take - in fact, if you have an iPhone your maps app will give you 2-3 different ways to get where you want to go! Is that how things are in relation to God? Are there 2-3 different ways and Jesus is simply 1 of those ways but doing good works and being an ethnic Jew are 2 of the other ways? No. The Bible clearly shares with us that if we are not in Christ, we are awaiting condemnation. We must be redeemed by His blood on the cross!

Lots of people, whether they admit this or not, are confused concerning how we are saved. Almost as though God has 2 different rules: One for Jews and one for Gentiles. If you’re an ethnic Jew in 2022 then you’re automatically saved because of your ethnicity but if you’re a Gentile then you have to trust in Jesus to be saved. That might something you’ve been told, but Paul argues something different in Romans 11. Look at what he shares

Romans 11:17–21 CSB

17 Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, though a wild olive branch, were grafted in among them and have come to share in the rich root of the cultivated olive tree, 18 do not boast that you are better than those branches. But if you do boast—you do not sustain the root, but the root sustains you. 19 Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 True enough; they were broken off because of unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but beware, 21 because if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.

What does this share with us?

Simply that there is tree that represents God’s chosen people and some of the branches have been broken off. What does this represent? The Jews - according to Paul’s logic. Why? So that another branch could be grafted in and share the blessing of being connected to this tree! Why is the first branch broken off? Because of unbelief. Because of a rejection of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Why is the other branch grafted in? Because of faith in Jesus Christ!

The Gospel message of Jesus Christ has always been a worldwide message to trust in Jesus because He alone saves! Genesis 12:3 shares that all the nations will be blessed through Abraham - Jesus Christ’s sacrifice impacts the world, not just the Jewish people. Gentiles are grafted in. Does this mean that God is done with the people of Israel? Far from it! Paul continues in Romans 11 and shares in verses 23-25 that God will graft them in once again. This means that though many Jews have rejected Jesus, in God’s perfect plan a Messianic revival will one day break out and those Jews will be grafted back in.

We see that being redeemed by grace through faith in Christ leads to being restored and grafted into God’s tree - adopted into His forever family! We talked about what adoption looks like last week… How someone receives a new name, a new inheritance, and a new family that can never be taken away. Friend, have you been adopted into God’s family? Have you been redeemed? Have you been grafted into God’s eternal tree? If so, understand that you are now being restored to look more like Jesus Christ. If not, understand what this process of restoration brings to your life.

The Joy of Restoration Now (Galatians 6:14-15)

What exactly does this process of restoration look like? Whenever you are saved, we believe that you are immediately saved and declared innocent in the eyes of God because Jesus’ blood credits you with His righteousness! This is a good thing - but this doesn’t mean that the process is completely over. You can think of salvation as being in 3 tenses: Past, Present, and Future. You have been saved, you are being saved, and you will be saved. You have been justified, you are being sanctified, you will be glorified. You were saved yesterday, you are being saved through the power of the Holy Spirit and His guidance in your life today as you look more like Jesus, and you will be saved from the presence and temptation of sin in the future whenever you stand in glory before your Creator!

This is an already but not yet truth. We are already saved but we aren’t quite home. We have the Holy Spirit in our heart but we aren’t physically in the presence of our Father. Because of what Jesus has done, we receive some of those benefits now but we don’t receive them all. What do we receive because of the cross? We receive peace, grace, mercy, adoption, righteousness, and joy.

Whenever Lindsey and I lived in Conway, I purchased a car wash membership because I was lazy and didn’t want to pay to do it myself. Maybe its nostalgia from my childhood, but I’ve always loved going through the car wash and watching all of the machines spray foam and clean your car from top to bottom as you move along a conveyer belt type contraption. There was one time that I was in line for this car wash after Upward basketball on a Saturday afternoon and it had just snowed the day before so all of these cars were nice and dirty. This particular time there was a truck in front of me and it was supposed to be white but it was anything but white that day because it was covered in dirt, dust, and mud. What happened as that truck went through the car wash, though? All of that dirt came off. Instead of looking gray, the truck looked clear and white as it came out! It had been restored to its original color by going through the car wash process.

Friend, because of the work of Jesus Christ on the cross and because of the power of the Holy Spirit, you are being washed clean right now! You are like that truck going through that car wash - you come dirty and covered in mud from top to bottom - the Bible calls that sin. Yet, through His power in you, you don’t leave looking that way. You are being restored today. You are being sanctified. You keep your eyes fixated on Jesus because you recognize that this world is not your home. Paul shares in Galatians 6:14 that he will only boast in the cross of Jesus Christ because through the cross, the world has been crucified. What does this mean? Is Paul saying that Christians don’t experience sorrow and suffering in this world? Far from it - Paul experienced many such situations! However, his mindset had been forever changed because of what Jesus had done.

Think of what Christ commands His followers to do in Luke 9 as He says

Luke 9:23–25 CSB

23 Then he said to them all, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will save it. 25 For what does it benefit someone if he gains the whole world, and yet loses or forfeits himself?

In our world, the cross is seen as a cool logo, something that belongs on t-shirts and jewelry, and a rallying cry of sorts to identify churches. This is the first time that the word cross is used in Luke’s Gospel and it is in relation to death… Not even Jesus’ death, but the death that His followers must die in order to follow Him. Jesus doesn’t say that if you want to follow Him your life will get easier, healthier, or happier. He says that if you want to follow Him, you must die each and every day. You must put to death your agendas, ideas, preferences, and hopes and trust in Him and follow Him. Whoever does this will be saved and find true, lasting life! Paul is sharing with these Galatians that the things of this world mean nothing - the only thing that matters and lasts is belonging to Jesus Christ!

Church, if you have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus on the cross, ask yourself, “Am I dying to self and following Christ every day?” This is a difficult task - but it is the one He commands of us each day. Following Jesus Christ and being conformed to His will for your life is a difficult process but it is a joyful one as well! Spurgeon once shared, “Paul means that ever since he fell in love with Jesus Christ, he lost all love for the world.” Where is your joy today? I pray that if you are a Christian, your joy is found in going through the car wash and having the Holy Spirit sanctify you daily to be more like Jesus Christ. I pray that your joy is found in living a life that is pleasing to your Heavenly Father. If you’re not a Christian, I beg of you to consider how the things of this world compare to the length of eternity. The world says to value things like houses, jobs, cars, and retirement packages above all else… Is your joy placed and founded in their standing? If so, undoubtedly, you will leave disappointed because those things will not last. They will not satisfy. Don’t boast in them! Look to Jesus and His work. Boast in Him. Be restored through Him.

The Hope of Restoration for the Future (Galatians 6:15-16)

Not only does this process of restoration impact our immediate lives through the presence of the Holy Spirit and looking more like Jesus each and every day - we are able to have hope as we know how the story ends. How many of you have ever had the ending to a book or movie spoiled to you? This isn’t always a fun thing as we usually like to experience the plot twist or surprise for ourselves! There are other times, though, where we appreciate knowing the ending while we find ourselves in a difficult time. In 2011, the St. Louis Cardinals were in the world series against the Texas Rangers and found themselves 1 strike away from losing the series in game 6. The Cardinals had to win this game to force a game 7. The game hadn’t gone very well for the Cardinals and it was so late that many fans began to begin their bedtime routines or even fall asleep. In the bottom of the 9th inning the Texas Rangers got 2 outs and had 2 strikes on David Freese - the Cardinals 3rd baseman. The Cardinals were losing by 2 runs and had 2 runners on base. Freese was facing one of the best pitchers in baseball, yet he came through with a clutch triple to tie the game and send the game to extra innings. Fast forward to the 11th inning and the same situation happened - yet the Cardinals once against came through whenever they were down to their last strike. Game 6 of the 2011 world series is a game that nearly gave me, as a 15 year old, a heart attack and it was a game that many fans missed because they fell asleep! Knowing the ending of the game, though, fans in the years since don’t have to fret about the eventual outcome even though it appears as though all hope is lost during the game itself. The Cardinals came through. They won the game. Rewatching the game doesn’t change the outcome.

We read in Scripture that God wins. Specifically, Paul shares in 1 Corinthians 15 that Jesus wins for His Church the victory by dying and rising from the dead! The resurrection defeats sin and death and they have no claim on those of us who are in Christ Jesus. What does this mean? It means that every single Christian can have hope in the middle of the game because the ending is secure. We can go to sleep comfortable at night knowing that Jesus wins. We can have hope in difficult moments in life because we know that this is not the end. Though sin, death, suffering, shame, guilt, and evil seem to dominate the headlines, they do not get the last laugh. They have an expiration date attached to them!

As we read the New Testament we read time and time again that Jesus is going to come back. Whenever Jesus comes back, how is that going to go down? There are lots of different eschatological views out there and I’m sure that many of them are adhered to in this very room. There are strengths and weaknesses to many of these views. There are Biblical texts that make some views seem stronger and other verses that make them seem weaker. Eschatology is an area that fascinates us because we read Daniel 9 and following and the book of Revelation and we love the pictures that we see. We love the idea of good versus evil and a great battle taking place. We love the idea of the good guys being taken away so that we don’t have to suffer. We like all sorts of things when it comes to the end of all days. If this is a subject that fascinates you, come on Sunday evenings as we’re about to begin a study over the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 and article 10 talks about this very topic!

Ultimately, regardless of your view of how these events will play out, we see a common result: The Kingdom of God defeats the Kingdom of this world. Evil is judged. Satan is defeated. Death dies. God’s people reign forevermore. What we see in the end is the restoration of creation and humanity as God creates a new heaven and a new earth and dwells with His people. This is our ultimate hope. But look at Galatians 6 as Paul makes an incredibly important point...

Galatians 6:16 CSB

16 May peace come to all those who follow this standard, and mercy even to the Israel of God!

Paul shares that what ultimately matters is not our past. It’s not our ethnicity or background… It’s being a new creation and being redeemed by the blood of Jesus and being apart of the every nation, tribe, and tongue who worships the Lamb. To those people, to those who are saved, he says in verse 16 that they receive peace and mercy. To those who are changed by the Gospel, the standard, they are referred to as the church - Paul made that argument throughout Galatians - especially in chapters 3/4 as we looked at last Sunday! To those individuals, we have hope because God makes good on His promises. We have hope because we know the ending. We have hope because we will be restored when He comes back. But, we again see an urgent request in verse 16 as Paul shares with us to follow this standard. Don’t just know that Jesus is coming back. Don’t just know the Gospel. Don’t just know what the Bible says. The Bible has to change you. The Spirit has to transform you. The reality of the 2nd coming must lead you to evangelize, not hunker down or act like a legalist who has it all figured out. Friend, pray every single day that the Lord would guard your heart from mere head knowledge and allow the truth in Scripture to impact your day to day living.

Why the New Creation Matters (Revelation 21)

Some wonder why the doctrine of restoration matters. We understand why creation matters as God made everything and God is in control over creation. We understand why the fall matters as sin separates us from God still to this day. We understand why redemption matters as Jesus paid for our sin by dying in our place on the cross. But why does restoration matter? You have 2 extremes in the church: those who only read Revelation and end times prophecy and those who never do. Both are unhealthy places to land. Should we read Revelation? You’d better believe we should. It’s in the canon of Scripture and has divinely inspired truth that we need to know! Yet, should we only read Revelation at the expense of other Scripture? No. Why? Because we need the full counsel of God’s Word. Why are there folks who draw maps with all these arrows pointing to different things in Revelation who have guessed when Jesus would come back and have been wrong every single time? Because they miss the forest for the trees. Do you know what that means? It means to miss the larger picture by looking only at a small part of it. If you read Revelation and all you come away with is thinking that the church is going to get raptured up and avoid the bad stuff, I’m sorry, but you’ve missed the main point of the book.

What’s the main point of Revelation? Jesus wins and if you’re a Christian, you win too. Look at the end of the book

Revelation 21:1–5 CSB

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. 3 Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away. 5 Then the one seated on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new.” He also said, “Write, because these words are faithful and true.”

Friend, if you’re a Christian, this is your hope! God restores His people to Himself and dwells with humanity. He restores creation. He fully reverses the curse of Genesis 3 and sin is eradicated once and for all. This is the good news of Revelation!

So, why does this matter to us today? 4 reasons why the doctrine of the New Creation matters

This world is not our home

God has created humanity with eternity on our heart. This temporary world is not our home. We must not take our 50-60-70 years here for granted because what we do with those years here will impact us for eternity.

The Christian hope is a resurrection hope

Our hope as Christians is that Jesus Christ on the cross and in the tomb defeated our greatest enemy. Our hope is that sin and death don’t have a claim on us any longer! If you’re a Christian, your hope is that death is not the end - it is the beginning of your eternal life.

There are two eternal options: Eternal Celebration and Eternal Separation

Contrary to the universalist who says that everyone goes to heaven and contrary to atheist who says that there is no heaven, the Bible shares that there are 2 eternal destinations: Heaven and Hell. That’s it. Everyone would rather choose heaven over hell, but where many fall short is with this second comparison: Do you want heaven or do you want earth? Do you want eternity with Jesus or a temporary time chasing what this world has to offer? Friend, just as hell loses to heaven, earth does as well.

Christ’s return will change the Universe

Just as Jesus’ birth changed the history books and continues to change humans today, His 2nd coming will change the universe yet again. He will save His people and He will judge sin and evil. He will conquer as the King of the Cosmos, not the innocent lamb, but as the roaring lion. He will take what belongs to Him.

Has Jesus changed your life? Have you been born again? Have you repented of your sin and trusted in Him? If not, why wait another day? H