From this weekend: JUSTIFYING GRACE—is called many things—REDEMPTION—CONVERSION—FORGIVENESS—to be RECONCILED—FOLLOWING JESUS to name a few. Let me share three examples of what JUSTIFYING GRACE is called in Scripture: 1—BORN AGAIN: In John 3, Nicodemus, a ruler of the Pharisees, comes to visit with Jesus at night. He was intrigued by the signs and miracles that Jesus had performed, but Jesus quickly moves below the surface of the conversation when he says, “Truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are BORN AGAIN.” (John 3:3) Jesus would go on to say that unless we are born of WATER and the SPIRIT we cannot enter the KINGDOM of GOD. Being BORN AGAIN is the same thing as being JUSTIFIED before God. There is an old saying that goes like this—those who are BORN ONCE—DIE TWICE—but those who are BORN TWICE—DIE only ONCE. Being BORN AGAIN—means inviting Jesus to live in our hearts—so that we experience our SECOND BIRTH. Are you BORN AGAIN? 2—GETTING SAVED: In Luke 7, Jesus is a guest for dinner at the home of Simon the Pharisee, when a woman of questionable reputation crashes the party—approaches Jesus and washes his feet with her tears—dries them with her hair and anoints them with expensive perfume. The “religious” guests at the party begin to object to Jesus—for allowing himself to be touched by such a “sinner.” Jesus tells the story of two debtors—one who owed a little—and the other who owed a lot. Both debts were forgiven. When Jesus asked Simon the Pharisee who would be more grateful, he said, “The one who had been forgiven the most.” Jesus then tells the crowd that is what is happening here—she has been forgiven much—and is showing it. He then forgives her sin, and says, “Your FAITH has SAVED you—go in peace.” Has your faith SAVED you? GETTING SAVED—to be forgiven of all of our sin that has hurt the heart of God and separated us from Him—happens in an INSTANT—but the direction it turns us to starts a journey that lasts for a LIFETIME. 3—ADOPTION: In ancient Roman culture, unwanted children—like little girls or boys born with deformities—were often left by the side of the road in a clay pot. To the pagan Roman mind, this enabled them to allow the gods to decide their fate. This practice was called EXPOSURE—and the abandoned children would either die, or be found by someone who would raise and sell them into slavery or prostitution. The concept of ADOPTION of a son or daughter was totally foreign. Yet, that is exactly the image that Paul uses in letters to the Romans, Galatians and Ephesians. He says that when we accept Jesus, that GOD HIMSELF ADOPTS us as His children. This is a powerful image—that we can miss if we always describe becoming a Christian as inviting Jesus into our hearts. The reality of the Gospel is that we ultimately do not become God’s children because of our initiative—God does not provide salvation primarily because of an invitation from us. Instead, before we were even born, God was working to ADOPT us—while we were lying alone in the depth of our sin—God was PLANNING to save us—and the ONLY WAY we can become a part of the family of God is through a love entirely beyond our imagination and completely out of our control. Christianity does not begin with OUR PURSUIT OF JESUS—but Jesus’ PURSUIT OF US. It does not start with an invitation that we offer to Jesus, but with an invitation he offers to us. Being BORN AGAIN—GETTING SAVED—and being ADOPTED—all refer to JUSTIFYING GRACE. When we respond to God’s offer of relationship with Jesus, He cancels the penalty of our sin and gives us new life. God’s JUSTIFYING GRACE gives us a NEW ROUTE through life.
Posted on: Mon, 31 Mar 2014 01:37:25 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015