Skip to content

Tag: grace

3

Published on 3 Comments on Sinning really isn’t the worst thing [repost]

Oh it's bad.  It's very bad.  It's murdering your Maker.  It's cheating on your Lover.  It's grieving His Spirit.  It's tearing apart your soul.  It's bad.  Bad, bad, bad.

But not receiving forgiveness is far worse.  Failure to accept the grace of Jesus dwarfs all other sins in its monstrosity.  To refuse the vulnerable humility of God; to trample on the Lamb and blaspheme His Spirit as they offer blood-bought mercy and cleansing - this is unspeakable evil.  It's the reason people perish eternally.

Don't believe me?  1 Thessalonians 2:10:

They perish because they refuse to love the truth and so be saved.

Those in hell are there for refusal to love the life-saving truth of the gospel.  To sin is one thing.  To refuse forgiveness is itself unforgivable.

Now we know this on a macro level.  We know that eternity does not depend on minimizing sin.  It depends on receiving forgiveness.  We believe it for that Day, but do we believe it this day?  Do I live today as though sinning (or not sinning) is the ultimate spiritual barometer?  Or is my spiritual barometer daily calibrated to the forgiveness of Christ?

Here's how I naturally assess my Christian walk.  I rate my 'performance' largely by how much distance I've managed to put between me and my last 'big sin.'  (Of course it's 'big sins' I'm interested in, if I worried about the little ones my holy-count would never get off the ground).  When the number of 'sin-free' days hits double figures I'm doing great.  In fact, once I'm talking in weeks rather than days it rockets me into the righteousness stratosphere.  Best of all, it finally allows me to minister to people from the safe distance of 'All-figured-out-holiness.'

Of course when I sin it sucks.  Why?  Because I'm back to zero.  My functional righteousness is caput and I'll have to endure the hassle of a 'holy' fortnight before I can feel good again.  If I minister to people it will have to be out of broken messiness and a dependence on the grace of Jesus.  Ewww.

Now that's a stark way of putting it.  But I don't think there is a nice way of portraying this mindset.  While ever we pursue the Christian life as though sinning is the worst thing and 'not sinning is the most important thing' then such a foul system will develop.   But it's to entirely forget the gospel.

So friends, perhaps you've really blown it recently.  Praise God this could be the opportunity to realize your profound and continual need for the blood of Jesus.  Allow this to teach you the truth - the person you showed yourself to be in your sin is the person you have always been.  It springs from a heart full of evil which you will carry to the grave.  Your only hope lies far above and beyond yourself at God's Right Hand.  He is your profound and continual need.

Perhaps you blew it a while ago but you just can't seem to get beyond it.  Friend - the Word of God forbids you to take your sin more seriously than Christ's forgiveness.  Is your sin great?  Yes.  But is it greater than the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world?   Is it beyond the redeeming value of God's own blood (Acts 20:28).  I think your sin has met its match in the blood of God, don't you?

Perhaps you haven't blown it for a while now but you're realizing you operate according to a functional righteousness.  You hate sin only because it spoils your 'holy count'.  You're proud and graceless.  Well meditate on Philippians 3:1-11.  Know that such 'righteousness' is dung and reckon it all as loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ.  He alone is your life and peace.

Or perhaps you're a blogger who writes about grace.  You can dissect the sins of works-righteousness and see through latent Pharisaisms.  Well neither are you righteous for your pithy critiques of the flesh.  You haven't got it figured out.  If you know anything it's that you're ignorant.  If you have any strength it's only found in your helplessness.  There's no credit to your insight, there's only rest in His mercy.  You are nothing.  Jesus is everything.

.

Published on Leave a comment on Sinning really isn't the worst thing [repost]

Oh it's bad.  It's very bad.  It's murdering your Maker.  It's cheating on your Lover.  It's grieving His Spirit.  It's tearing apart your soul.  It's bad.  Bad, bad, bad.

But not receiving forgiveness is far worse.  Failure to accept the grace of Jesus dwarfs all other sins in its monstrosity.  To refuse the vulnerable humility of God; to trample on the Lamb and blaspheme His Spirit as they offer blood-bought mercy and cleansing - this is unspeakable evil.  It's the reason people perish eternally.

Don't believe me?  1 Thessalonians 2:10:

They perish because they refuse to love the truth and so be saved.

Those in hell are there for refusal to love the life-saving truth of the gospel.  To sin is one thing.  To refuse forgiveness is itself unforgivable.

Now we know this on a macro level.  We know that eternity does not depend on minimizing sin.  It depends on receiving forgiveness.  We believe it for that Day, but do we believe it this day?  Do I live today as though sinning (or not sinning) is the ultimate spiritual barometer?  Or is my spiritual barometer daily calibrated to the forgiveness of Christ?

Here's how I naturally assess my Christian walk.  I rate my 'performance' largely by how much distance I've managed to put between me and my last 'big sin.'  (Of course it's 'big sins' I'm interested in, if I worried about the little ones my holy-count would never get off the ground).  When the number of 'sin-free' days hits double figures I'm doing great.  In fact, once I'm talking in weeks rather than days it rockets me into the righteousness stratosphere.  Best of all, it finally allows me to minister to people from the safe distance of 'All-figured-out-holiness.'

Of course when I sin it sucks.  Why?  Because I'm back to zero.  My functional righteousness is caput and I'll have to endure the hassle of a 'holy' fortnight before I can feel good again.  If I minister to people it will have to be out of broken messiness and a dependence on the grace of Jesus.  Ewww.

Now that's a stark way of putting it.  But I don't think there is a nice way of portraying this mindset.  While ever we pursue the Christian life as though sinning is the worst thing and 'not sinning is the most important thing' then such a foul system will develop.   But it's to entirely forget the gospel.

So friends, perhaps you've really blown it recently.  Praise God this could be the opportunity to realize your profound and continual need for the blood of Jesus.  Allow this to teach you the truth - the person you showed yourself to be in your sin is the person you have always been.  It springs from a heart full of evil which you will carry to the grave.  Your only hope lies far above and beyond yourself at God's Right Hand.  He is your profound and continual need.

Perhaps you blew it a while ago but you just can't seem to get beyond it.  Friend - the Word of God forbids you to take your sin more seriously than Christ's forgiveness.  Is your sin great?  Yes.  But is it greater than the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world?   Is it beyond the redeeming value of God's own blood (Acts 20:28).  I think your sin has met its match in the blood of God, don't you?

Perhaps you haven't blown it for a while now but you're realizing you operate according to a functional righteousness.  You hate sin only because it spoils your 'holy count'.  You're proud and graceless.  Well meditate on Philippians 3:1-11.  Know that such 'righteousness' is dung and reckon it all as loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ.  He alone is your life and peace.

Or perhaps you're a blogger who writes about grace.  You can dissect the sins of works-righteousness and see through latent Pharisaisms.  Well neither are you righteous for your pithy critiques of the flesh.  You haven't got it figured out.  If you know anything it's that you're ignorant.  If you have any strength it's only found in your helplessness.  There's no credit to your insight, there's only rest in His mercy.  You are nothing.  Jesus is everything.

.

6

Published on 6 Comments on Passover sermon – Exodus 11-12

Exodus 11-12 sermon audio

It doesn’t matter what’s on the inside, it’s what’s on the outside that counts.

It’s not the interior – it’s all about the blood on the doorposts.  It’s not about the LORD inspecting your house.  It's ONLY about the blood outside.

It’s not even about how much faith you have in the blood.  If the blood is applied at all, you’re saved.  Strong faith in the blood and wavering faith in the blood lead to exactly the same outcome.  Because it’s not faith IN the blood that saves - it’s the blood.

People say to me, “I don’t have very strong faith.”  And I say “Me neither.  But thank God we’re not saved by how strong our believing feelings are!  Thank God we are saved, not so much by our faith in Christ’s blood, thank God we’re saved by Christ’s blood!”

...It’s not about the quality of your living, speaking, acting, praying.  It’s not even about the quality of your own faith.  It’s only about the blood.  It’s the quality of His death, not the quality of your life.  Your salvation has nothing to do with YOU – and everything to do with HIM.  Nothing to do with your performance and everything to do with His performance.

People so often worry that their sins have cost them their relationship with God.  Well you can’t out-sin the Blood of God can you?!  Think about your sins. No matter what they are.  Is your sin bigger than the blood of God??  Nonsense.  You have not out-sinned the blood of Jesus.  You cannot out-sin the blood of Jesus.  Impossible!  It’s about His blood outside – not your heart inside...

 

...continue reading "Passover sermon – Exodus 11-12"

Published on Leave a comment on What would cheap grace look like? (Repost)

...The younger brother came to himself and said, 'My dad's an old softy.  I reckon if I returned looking all dirty and sorrowful he'd bail me out.  Worth a try anyway.' he reasoned.

And so he rose and made the journey back to his father rehearsing his sorry-speech along the way.

'Father, my father.  I know I messed up.  I know I don't deserve anything from you.  You'd be well within your rights to shun me forever.  But, father, my father,  I'm throwing myself on your mercy, a poor stinking wretch.  But I know you're a good dad - will you help me out?'

By the time he got to his father's house his speech was pitch-perfect.  He rang the door-bell and waited.

Eventually he heard his father's shuffling steps, then the locks turning in the door, one after the other - four in all.  At last it creaked open a crack and the old man squinted up at his son.

Ahem.  'Father, my father.  I know I messed up.  I know I don't deserve anything...' began the prodigal.

The father's look began to thaw.  From frowning, to shocked recognition and then he softened.  The speech was good.  Perhaps the best yet.  By the end the old man couldn't help but blurt out,

'Ah my son!  You certainly know how to tug at my heart strings.  What can I do for you?'

The son took a moment to congratulate himself on another triumph.

'Well, father,' he said, clapping his hands together and rubbing them. 'Wild living ain't cheap!  And Lord knows how I'm going to afford my ticket back to the far country...'

'Back?  You want to go back?' asked the father, his face falling.

'Well just for now.  Unfinished business you see.  But I'm definitely planning on returning...'

'...Because, son, you know there's always room for you here...'

'Yes, sure. Absolutely dad.  And I'll definitely be returning.  Probably quite often.  But there's things I need to do and, well, I need your help.'

'How much?'

The prodigal couldn't suppress a guilty smile.  He'd been found out.

'Well dad, there's the ticket.  Then I need the deposit on a new place.  I've found the perfect pad - downtown, the ladies love it.  But that's another thing,' he said chuckling, 'they sure are expensive those women!'

'How much?' he asked again.

'It's hard to put a figure you know dad, it could be anything.'

They looked at each other for a full minute.  The father broke the silence.

'Blank cheque then?'

'Blank cheque would be great!  Yeah thanks.  Phew.  You're a real life-saver dad.  Wow.  I'd hug you, but I'm a bit smelly from the pigs.  Speaking of which, do you have any food?  Ham sandwich maybe?'

'Ham sandwich??  Look, come inside.  I'll kill the fattened calf.  Tonight we'll feast!'

'Gosh, dad.  That's sweet but I really don't have time.  Listen, I'll just grab something from drive thru.  The cheque's fine.  And, now that I think of it, don't make it out to the family name.  I've changed it.  Yeah, too many people were associating me with you and... well.  You know...'

Within five minutes the younger son was heading back down the drive.  He spotted his brother in the field and, holding the cheque aloft, called out.  "Ciao bro'!  Enjoy the slaving!"

.

Published on Leave a comment on Ten Signs You Might Be A Pharisee…

...or at least Pharasaical in your Christianity
(taken from this sermon on The Two Sons: Luke 15):

.

1)    You’re in church

Luke 15:25 - the field is the older brother's natural habitat.  Not the far country.  Close to the banquet.  But not in it.

.

2)    You’re angry

v28 - older brothers have volcanic anger.  Which is difficult for you if you're an older brother type because you are a good boy or girl.  You're not supposed to be angry, but you are.  Furious actually and it bubbles beneath the surface.

.

3)    You’re self-promoting

v29 - “Look!” says the older brother.  Look at my record.  Look how good I am.

.

4)    Life with God feels like slavery

v29 - “All these years I have been slaving.”  You feel like God is a slave-driver and you are one of his billions of minions trudging along.

.

5)    You can’t admit to sin

v29 - "I have never disobeyed your orders."  You think of sin as simply disobeying direct commands from a heavenly slave-master.  Or you think of it as not being as externally bad as the next guy.  You would never think of sin as a matter of the heart.  You don't think of sin as a relationship problem with Jesus and others.  And so you never admit to sin.  You cannot admit to it because your whole identity is founded on being better than others.

.

6)    You don’t allow yourself to celebrate

v29 - a young goat with one or two friends, maybe.  But I don’t think this elder brother even asked for a goat.  He’s not into extravagant celebration, he'd rather slave.  He's not into cutting loose, he'd rather scrimp and save.  He's not into asking for things, he'd rather earn.  Is that you?

.

7)    Everything’s unfair

v29 – he got more than me! You’re always looking over your shoulder at what the other person has and crying foul.  Life has the audacity NOT to follow your work ethic.  Good things happen to bad people, bad things happen to good people and you hate that.  Because you're all about 'fairness' and you despise the grace of God.  The thought of really bad people being forgiven and ending up in heaven seriously disturbs you.

.

8)    You cannot associate with sinners

v30 – he can’t even bring himself to say “my brother.” It’s “this son of yours”.  If there’s a party with sinners you just wouldn’t go.  What on earth do you have in common with these people?  You can't relate to sinners outside or inside the church.  You'd never think of joining an outreach to the homeless, or drug addicts or prostitutes - they are a different species after all.  And if Christians confess sin to you, you have advice but no real understanding or empathy.

.

9)    You’re wracked with superiority

v30 - Jesus defines it as 'wild living' (v13) but the older brother spins his own interpretation, 'squandered your property on prostitutes.'  The older son needs to be better than his brother.  Therefore his brother needs to be worse.  Is that you?  Are you better?  And do you need to be better, and others need to be worse.

.

10)   You don’t know the grace of Jesus and the love of the Father

This is the heart of it all.  This underlies all the other signs.  The older brother is outside the banquet as the parable ends.  He is a stranger to his father's love.  And it's his own goodness that keep him out of the feast.  His goodness doesn't get him into the baquet.  His goodness keeps him out.  And remember this feast represents heaven!

Are you an older brother? When people talk about relationship with Jesus and the love of God do those phrases just pass you by?  Do you know what it is to be a sinner celebrated by Jesus?  Do you know what it is to be welcomed by Jesus and eat with Him?  (Luke 15:1-2; Rev 3:20).   Do you know what it is to be adopted by Jesus into the divine Family and call on the Most High God as Father?

That is the only kind of Christian there is.  Heaven is only for sinners reconciled by the blood-bought redeeming love of Jesus.

Jesus says in Matthew 18:3: "Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

Lay down you pride.  Be reconciled to Jesus who died to welcome you.  Come on in and join the joy.

.

More from this sermon.

.

2

Published on 2 Comments on Sinners, Slaves or Sons?

Luke 15: Younger Brother sermon here

Luke 15: Older Brother sermon audio here

The world is naturally divided into sinners and slaves.  Sinners seek freedom.  Slaves seek reputation.  And they hate each other.  Sinners think the world would be so much better without the slaves.  Slaves think the world would be so much better without the sinners.  We all exist somewhere along this spectrum.

Jesus comes and says - You're both wrong.  You're both wretched.  You're both equally far from heaven's banquet.  That's the meaning of Luke 15.

Jesus comes to bring a new kind of humanity.  Not half-way in between but something else.  Not sinners, not slaves but sons.

Sinners wish God dead by taking His stuff and leaving.
Slaves wish God dead by despising His grace.
Sons are brought from death to life in His embrace.

Sinners are strangers to God in the far country.
Slaves are strangers to God in the field.
Sons are sinners in the Father’s arms.

Sinners seek freedom yet find deeper slavery.
Slaves seek righteousness yet find deeper sin.
Sons seek Christ and find both freedom and righteousness.

Sinners are wretched in their rebellion.
Slaves are wretched in their righteousness.
Sons are wretched in His robes.

Full sermon text below....

...continue reading "Sinners, Slaves or Sons?"

11

Published on 11 Comments on Pigsty Christianity

Sermon audio - Luke 15 LINK NOW WORKING

"Here we have a son devising a speech and a repayment plan to get his life back.  And what he is proposing is self-redemption.  He wants to stop being a younger brother type and to start being an older brother type.  He’s given up on the freedom lark, now he’ll try slaving.  But this is NOT the way back to Jesus.  The pigsty is NOT the turning point.

So often I hear evangelistic talks and they go something like this:  “You’ve made a mess of your life haven’t you?  You realize you can’t do life on your own don’t you?  Well then come to your senses.  Pick yourself up out of the pigsty, make some resolutions to try really hard for God.  And return to Him using this prayer that is guaranteed to win God’s favour.  You’ll have to promise to behave, and you’ll have to make this speech word perfect which is why I’m going to feed it to you line by line and you can parrot it back.”

Does that sound vaguely familiar as the way the gospel gets taught?  But what’s the problem here?  Well that would make the younger son into his own Saviour.

But think about those other stories Jesus tells.  The lost sheep doesn’t come to its senses and decide to come home and make good!  Can you imagine the film "Flossy comes home"?  Can you imagine the lost sheep trotting back up the front drive in slow motion, the music swelling, the shepherd on the porch, tears in his eyes???  No!  It needs the shepherd to go out and save it IN its lostness.  And when the shepherd finds the sheep he can't even trust the sheep to follow him home.  He's got to hoist the stupid thing onto his shoulders, so wayward is the sheep.  Jesus says we're like sheep.  We go astray, we each turn to our own way (Isaiah 53:5).  We DON'T come home.  That's not our nature.  We're like lost sheep who need saving.  This younger son is like a sheep, he's not returning to the fold under his own steam.  This is not him saving himself.  Not even close.  The pigsty is not the turning point.

But so much of Christianity is pigsty Christianity.  So much is about coming to your senses, resolving to do better, and impressing God with how sorry you are.  Pigsty Christianity.  It’s filth.  That’s not the gospel!  The gospel is a running father who embraces, kisses, clothes, honours, celebrates and eats with an evil conniving son, still stinking of pig.  That's the gospel."

Read the whole sermon below...

...continue reading "Pigsty Christianity"

Published on Leave a comment on The Five 'Alone's of the Reformation: Sermon Series

Here's the text and audio for the five sola sermons.  Then a final thought:

Christ Alone
Audio

Grace Alone
Audio

Faith Alone
Audio

Scripture Alone
Audio

God's Glory Alone
Audio

.

We refocus on these fundamentals not simply as an exercise in doctrinal purity.  The point is to rediscover the true God.  Because God is the God of the Gospel.  To drift from the gospel is to drift from God Himself.

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the One who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel.  (Gal 1:6)

When a person ditches the gracious gospel in favour of a different gospel, they ditch God.  Because God is the God of the Gospel.  Conversely when a person trusts the gracious gospel they aren't just converted to a different way of approaching God, they are converted to a different God.

Therefore the experience of hearing the pure gospel should not just be, "Ohh, so that's how the God-I-always-believed-in saves people, now I'll adjust my methods of attaining salvation."

No.  When we hear the gospel, the overwhelming response should be:  "Ohh, so that's what God is like.  I had Him all wrong."

In the gospel we don't just give people a different way to God.  We give them a different God.  The God of the Gospel.  And that's liberation.  It's not the surprise of seeing the-God-we-always-believed-in relating to us via some lovely principles - grace alone and faith alone.  It's the earth-shattering shock of looking to the throne and, utterly unexpectedly, seeing that there sits the gracious, trustworthy Gospel-God.

For the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their Shepherd; He will lead them to springs of Living Water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.  (Rev 7:17)

.

.

1

Published on 1 Comment on The Five ‘Alone’s of the Reformation: Sermon Series

Here's the text and audio for the five sola sermons.  Then a final thought:

Christ Alone
Audio

Grace Alone
Audio

Faith Alone
Audio

Scripture Alone
Audio

God's Glory Alone
Audio

.

We refocus on these fundamentals not simply as an exercise in doctrinal purity.  The point is to rediscover the true God.  Because God is the God of the Gospel.  To drift from the gospel is to drift from God Himself.

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the One who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel.  (Gal 1:6)

When a person ditches the gracious gospel in favour of a different gospel, they ditch God.  Because God is the God of the Gospel.  Conversely when a person trusts the gracious gospel they aren't just converted to a different way of approaching God, they are converted to a different God.

Therefore the experience of hearing the pure gospel should not just be, "Ohh, so that's how the God-I-always-believed-in saves people, now I'll adjust my methods of attaining salvation."

No.  When we hear the gospel, the overwhelming response should be:  "Ohh, so that's what God is like.  I had Him all wrong."

In the gospel we don't just give people a different way to God.  We give them a different God.  The God of the Gospel.  And that's liberation.  It's not the surprise of seeing the-God-we-always-believed-in relating to us via some lovely principles - grace alone and faith alone.  It's the earth-shattering shock of looking to the throne and, utterly unexpectedly, seeing that there sits the gracious, trustworthy Gospel-God.

For the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their Shepherd; He will lead them to springs of Living Water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.  (Rev 7:17)

.

.

8

Published on 8 Comments on God's Glory Alone sermon

We’re like a little kid coming to God saying “Oooh, salvation, let me have a go!"  And like a Good Father, God says, “No, no, put salvation down.  Glen, I’ve told you a thousand times, PUT SALVATION DOWN.  It’s too big for you.  You'll break it and it'll break you.”  And we say “Aww but I wanna do it, let me, let me, let me.  All the other gods let their people save themselves!!”  And our Father says “Yes, but that just shows they’re not really gods are they?  Now put salvation down!"

His Grace guarantees His Glory...

...Because His Glory is to give.

Audio here

Text below...

...continue reading "God's Glory Alone sermon"

Twitter widget by Rimon Habib - BuddyPress Expert Developer