Grace, Grace, Grace!
Notes
Transcript
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.
How Can Paul Say This?
1. Salvation Does Not Come by Keeping Commandments
1. Salvation Does Not Come by Keeping Commandments
Commandment-Keeping Chimera
Commandment-Keeping Chimera
This is the old way of life. It’s burdensome. It’s also impossible. The main reason why Paul wrote to the Galatians.
Illustration of climbing mountain, trying to keep commands.
Salvation does not come by keeping ANY kind of commands.
The reason why no one can be saved by following commands:
But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”
You cannot be saved by following commands because no one actually keeps them.
The Commandment-Keeping Rule
The Commandment-Keeping Rule
=> Keep the commandments or suffer the penalty.
He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek.
The Commandment-Keeping Result
The Commandment-Keeping Result
The underlying assumption here: the problem of humanity is sin.
“Sin distorts our character, a central feature of our very humanity. Sin corrupts powerful human capacities—thought, emotion, speech, and act—so that they become the centers of attack on others or of defection or neglect.” ~Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be
We all know that our world is not the way it is supposed to be. We know there is something dreadfully wrong with humanity.
Socialism: the problem is economic, the distribution of money
Americanism: the problem is political freedom
Culture: the problem is psychological, self-esteem
Islam: the problem is submission to Allah
Hinduism: the problem is liberation, particularly liberation from the illusion that you really exist
Buddhism: the problem is ignorance and desire, primarily the ignorance that external reality does not really exist and the desire for things in this world (since they are an illusion)
Christianity is the only view that locates the true problem with humanity itself: the problem is sin in our hearts:
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.
WE are the problem, not political freedom, distribution of money, self-esteem, ignorance, or anything else.
2. Salvation Comes by Grace Through Faith in Jesus
2. Salvation Comes by Grace Through Faith in Jesus
Jesus is the only one ever to have provided a true remedy for humanity’s real problem.
Jesus is the only one ever to have provided a true remedy for humanity’s real problem.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
The Cross is God’s Holiness and Love
The Cross is God’s Holiness and Love
Illustration of God’s holiness and love.
3. Grace, Grace, Grace!
3. Grace, Grace, Grace!
“I am convinced that the basic cause of some of the most disturbing emotional/spiritual problems which trouble evangelical Christians is the failure to receive and live out God’s unconditional grace, and the corresponding failure to offer that grace to others.” ~David Seamands
If you try to be saved and kept saved by works:
You will be condemned.
You will continue to experience feelings of guilt, desperation, anxiety, depression, and frustration.
Always trying but never sure of your salvation.
You make the cross worthless.
I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.
“You Might Have a Works-Mentality If:”
Outbursts of anger, angry toward others
A demanding attitude, perfectionism
Frequently, or consistently, contend that others agree with your own views, every jot and tittle
Frequently, or consistently, find problems with what others do or say; always being critical
Legalism: do it the way I want it done
Rebellious toward authority
Refuse to work with others
Rarely or never serve
Only come to church on Sundays “to get fed” or “be a good Christian”
Refuse to interact with those whom you had a disagreement with, or avoid certain people
Do not reconcile with a brother or sister in Christ
Love lists and rules, requiring others to follow them
You look down on others or speak ill of them because they are poor or rich, young or old, educated or not educated
For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Story of Johnny Cash - “The Man in Black”
Many may think that Cash’s life is the most unlikely of places to find a Christian example of grace.
Drug addict, alcoholic, adulterer, thief, and a vandal.
But he was a very out-spoken believer in Christ. He was baptized in 1979 at age 47
In and out of rehab throughout his life
“I used to have regrets, but then I forgave myself. When God forgave me, I figured I’d better do it too.”
The Man in Black
Well, you wonder why I always dress in black
Why you never see bright colors on my back
And why does my appearance seem to have a somber tone
Well, there's a reason for the things that I have on
I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down
Livin' in the hopeless, hungry side of town
I wear it for the prisoner who is long paid for his crime
But is there because he's a victim of the times
I wear the black for those who've never read
Or listened to the words that Jesus said
About the road to happiness through love and charity
Why, you'd think He's talking straight to you and me
Well, we're doin' mighty fine, I do suppose
In our streak of lightnin' cars and fancy clothes
But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back
Up front there ought to be a man in black