I have always been fascinated with bows and arrows. Ever since I watched Luke Duke hang out the window of the General Lee and shoot a flaming arrow that blew something up, I have been hooked. So this morning, I have asked Walter Rice to bring a bow up here on stage so we can learn more about these amazing devices.
Bows are simple. You point it towards a target and then you release the arrow. What is the goal when shooting at a target? The goal is to hit the bulls’ eye. We aim to hit the target.
Now some of you may be wondering what in the world this has to do with the Bible. Well, I’m glad you asked. The word the Bible writers used for sin was the Greek word hamartano. Hamartano literally means “to miss the mark.” So to sin is to miss the target that God has given to us.
The target that God has given us is the target of the Law. And unfortunately the news this morning is that we all have missed the target. Romans 3:23 teaches us that “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” This means each one of us in here have at some point missed the mark.
One time the famous American evangelist, Billy Sunday, was preparing for a revival meeting in a large city. He wrote a letter to the mayor of that city asking him for names of people who had spiritual problems and needed help. Billy Sunday was somewhat surprised when he received from that Mayor a city telephone directory!
All of us have a serious spiritual problem and it’s called sin.
Now there is a popular trend in many churches today that says we should not talk about sin. Rather, we should just build everyone’s self-esteem. Or we should just speak about topics that do not get controversial. We enjoy hearing sermons on love and joy. We shy away from sermons that call us to more commitment or remind us of our faults.
But my goal today is to help us be honest with ourselves and admit that we are sinners who need to be free from sin.
Sometimes I read the news and I just wonder why some people do what they do. One lady was arrested in Lake City, Florida for robbery of a Howard Johnson’s motel. She was armed with only an electric chain saw, which was not plugged in. Why in the world would someone do that?
I read the Bible and I wonder why people do what they do. I read of Adam and Eve in the Garden, and when I get to the part of Eve eating the forbidden fruit and sharing it with Adam, I just want to shout, “Why would you do that!?”
As I read about God leading Israel out of slavery in Egypt, I see how He provided a way for them by parting the Red Sea. It is amazing! Then I read of Moses going to the top of Mount Sinai and receiving the law. But because Moses was gone for forty days the Israelites figured Moses was dead so they began to worship a Golden Calf and called this idol which they had made the god that lead them out of Egypt.
Moses comes down from the mountain and he is angry. He questions his brother Aaron, who was supposed to be in charge while Moses was away. And all Aaron can come up with is this: “We just threw the gold in the fire and this calf popped out.” Why would you do that?!
Why would Judas betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver? Why would Ananias and Saphira plot to deceive the church into thinking they were better than they really were? Why would they do that?
But then I look at my life. And I wonder, “Why did I do that?”
Do you ever find yourself wondering, “Why did I do that?” Have you ever desperately tried to avoid doing certain things, yet you always wind up right back where you wanted to avoid being? Do you ever wonder if the Christian life can really work?
This morning I am going to be up front with all of you and confess that I struggle living the Christian life. There are times I read the Bible and then look at my life and I realize that it just does not match up. Has anyone else ever felt that way?
If you feel that way, please know that you are not alone. In fact, there was a man named Saul, who later had his name changed to Paul, who felt exactly the same. Listen to what he wrote in Romans 7:14 - 15, 24: “14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?”
Many times we tend to put people written about in the Bible on a higher plane than ourselves. But we need to remember they were humans just like we are. And here in these verses the Apostle Paul admits that he feels the same tension with sin that we do.
The good news is there is relief from the tension of sin. Listen to the rest of Paul’s words in verses 7:25 - 8:2. “25Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.”
Remember the old commercial for Rolaids which asked the question “How do you spell relief?” We would spell the relief from the tension of sin this way: G-R-A-C-E. To have relief from the tension we must simply do this: Change our thinking from Law to Grace.
When we think about grace we must realize that…
Grace is ILLOGICAL
First of all I want to emphasize, and know this isn’t a complaint, it’s just an observation, the Grace of GOD is a gift that makes no sense. It’s totally illogical! There is nothing you can do to earn it. Grace is totally and clearly undeserved favor from GOD.
Paul tells us in ROMANS 5:8– “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us!” That doesn’t make sense!
If you ever took a class in logic, you might remember a term called, “syllogisms”. A syllogism is where you set forth two propositions and a conclusion. If “A” is true and if “B” is truth, therefore, “C” is true. The Latin word for “therefore” is “ergo”. Your professor might have said, “If ‘A’ is true and “B” is true, ergo ‘C’ is true!”
Many in the faith have concluded that good works will get you into heaven. The two propositions in their syllogism are..... “God hates sin. And, I do good works.” And their conclusion is, “Ergo– I will go to heaven.” But the Bible teaches something very different. The Bible teaches that we are all sinners. And even with our good works, our righteousness is like filthy rags compared to a holy, perfect and blameless God. The Bible’s two main propositions are this... “God hates sin. And each one of us is a sinner.” And as Martin Luther said, “If you try to get to heaven using logic, you will ‘ergo’ to hell!”
Grace is Divinely illogical. The gospel is never a ‘therefore’, it’s a resounding, “NEVERTHELESS!” “GOD hates sin. I’m a big sinner. NEVERTHELESS, I can still go to heaven!” It’s totally illogical, but it is true. Jesus went to the cross, and God tells us that his blood covers all of our sin if we put our trust in Him.
The notion of God’s love coming to us free of charge, no strings attached, seems to go against every instinct of humanity. The Buddhist has an eight-fold path, the Hindu doctrine of karma, the Jewish covenant, the Muslim code of law– each of these offer a way to earn approval. Only Christianity dares to make God’s love unconditional. Grace doesn’t make sense! It’s illogical....But it’s real..... And secondly....
Grace is AVAILABLE
God offers us his grace. “For God so loved the world that He sacrificed his one and only son and whoever believes will not perish but have eternal life!” YES! Grace is available.
Grace is TRANSFORMATIONAL (4).
Romans 8:2 teaches, “1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.”
We have been set free from the law of sin and death. Grace is given and designed to create in us a change of life. Grace is designed to empower new life.
That is such good news. There’s hope. The cycle can be broken. The chains can be broken. Facing marriage stress, dealing with divorce, facing rejection, over coming issues of dysfunction, fighting drug addiction, dealing with abusive past? God’s grace is enough. You can be rescued and liberated from this present evil age– but only by the grace of Jesus.
Grace is MOTIVATIONAL (5).
Grace should motivate us to worship. Paul couldn’t help it. As he writes to the church about grace and describes the sacrifice of Christ– he quantum leaps into a statement of praise…
Romans 7:25, “Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Grace motivates the worship of GOD– which by the way is the point of life. Life isn’t just about getting to heaven and taking as many as possible with you. It’s about the worship and glory of GOD in the Now so that you’ll be prepared for the then.
Wonderful Grace of Jesus! One of my all time favorite songs of the church is simply called, “The Wonderful Grace of Jesus.” Remember how that song went?
1 Wonderful grace of Jesus, Greater than all my sin; How shall my tongue describe it, Where shall its praise begin? Taking away my burden, Setting my spirit free; For the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me.
2 Wonderful grace of Jesus, Reaching to all the lost, By it I have been pardoned, Saved to the uttermost, Chains have been torn asunder, Giving me liberty; For the Wonderful Grace of Jesus reaches me.
3 Wonderful grace of Jesus, Reaching the most defiled, By its transforming power, Making him God’s dear child, Purchasing peace and heaven, For all eternity, and the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me.
Refrain: Wonderful the matchless grace of Jesus, Deeper than the mighty rolling sea; Wonderful grace, all sufficient for me, for even me. Broader than the scope of my transgressions; Greater far than all my sin and shame, O magnify the precious name of Jesus, PRAISE HIS NAME!
Grace is RECEIVABLE (3:5-9; 3:26-27).
Grace is receivable, in fact, it has to be received! This is the best part. You can know when it’s yours. I mean, without a way to personally apply it to my life, it’s just a great story. One time I heard a preacher say, “An impression, without an expression leads to depression.” Can you imagine hearing the gospel story without an explanation of how to accept?
Let me point to two passages in GALATIANS 3 that gives us clues as to how to accept the grace offer for forgiveness, salvation and eternal life.
First of all, GALATIANS 3:5-9... “5Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard? 6Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." 7Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. 8The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you." 9So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.”
Accepting grace starts when you hear the gospel– the story of Jesus and His offer of salvation. Hearing then leads to faith and trust in his promises. Faith then, always leads to obedience. So we have to hear about the offer.
Then we have to believe the offer. And then listen to 3:26-29.... “26You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
There’s that doctrine of “Baptism” again. Why would someone be baptized into Christ? Well, it’s because it is attached to the Promise of Jesus. Jesus said in MARK 16:16– “He who believes and is baptized will be saved.” Now, if you trust Jesus and believe His promise– you’ll act accordingly.
Listen, grace isn’t granted because of my doctrinal stance, or my mamma’s theology, or my personal conviction or my gut feelings, but grace is granted and received when I trust the promises of GOD.....GOT GRACE?
Church, it is vital that we get this. It’s paramount that as a church we major in grace. And not only do we need to accept it, we must reflect it. We need to share it. I’m convinced that the only reason people come to church is out of a hunger for grace. And I’m convinced that they will stay if they find it.
Listen, this world is starving for grace! They’re not going to find in Corporate America, the education system or the sports arena– No, God desires that it be shared by the church.
Let’s make Central Christian Church a place of grace. Let’s accept it ourselves. Let’s share it with each other. And let’s offer it to the world!
The last Word that we have from God recorded in Scripture is REVELATION 22:21– “The grace of the LORD Jesus be with God’s people. Amen!”
Listen, the world can do almost anything as well as or better than the church– you don’t need to be a Christian to build houses for hurricane victims, or feed the hungry or hospital the sick. But there’s one thing the world cannot do. It cannot offer grace. The churches single most important contribution in this world is to be the invitation of God’s grace.
This morning, we can be free from sin, if we accept God’s grace.
