God’s Restoring Grace
Folks, here is a fact that I have learned in life – relationships change. It does not matter whether it is the relationship with your spouse – your children or your friends. Relationships change. This is also true of your relationship to God. Your relationship to Jesus is like any other relationship. If you want a strong healthy relationship with Jesus – it has to be maintained. No relationship ever stays the same. Relationships take work. Relationships take time. You’re either growing closer to a person or you are getting further away. This is true in any relationship including your relationship with the God.
There is a phrase that I like to use when it comes to understanding relationships – it goes like this – “You can cross the same bridge a thousand times – but it is never the same water.” What this means is that it may always be the same relationship – but it is always changing. You never just stand still. You don’t just become a Christian and that’s it. You’re either having your heart grow warmer every day or it’s growing colder.
Relationships get hot or they can get cold. You can get closer to a person or you can get further away. We all have “up days” and we have “down days”. We face temptations – sometimes we win – sometimes we fail. The good news is that God always offers to us His Restoring Grace. King David sinned against God when he had his affair with Bathsheba – yet he prayed this prayer:
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.” Psalms 51:10-12 (NKJV)
When we blow it – when we walk away – when we stumble – God says, "You can come back to Me. I will restore you." Folks – that is God’s Restoring Grace. Once you have grown cold – once you have let yourself down and God down – why is it that God is willing to take you back? How can we ask Him to “Restore the joy of salvation” in our lives? How can He be so forgiving?
Today I want to look at five reasons why God will extend His Restoring Grace to you – why God offers to take you back after you have sinned. Let’s jump right in. God offers His Restoring Grace to you:
1. Because God’s love is UNCONDITIONAL
God doesn’t say, "I will love you if you are – good – perfect – handsome or holy.” He doesn’t say, "I will love you because you are intelligent – gorgeous or gracious." He just says, "I love you and that’s it – period!" Some of you need to repeat this phrase daily. Some of you need to say this phrase over and over again. What is the phrase? It is: “God will never stop loving me.” God will never stop loving me because I am a recipient of His Restoring Grace.
I want us to look at a passage of scripture from the book of First Corinthians. Paul is writing to the church and here is what he says:
“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (NKJV)
Go ahead and circle the words – “and such were some of you”. What was true then is still true today. God loved believers even before they were believers – even while they were still sinners.
Folks, here is a Fact: God takes sinners and turns them into saints.
God is in the life change business. He takes that which is dirty and cleans it up. He takes that which is broken and fixes it. I don’t know about you – but I am thankful that God is working in my life. He is Great Potter who takes a lump of clay and turns it into a beautiful vessel. That is what God does – He is in the life change business and His love for me is unconditional. He knows exactly what He got when He picked me up. He knows exactly what He got when He invited me to join His family. He knew what condition I was in when He chose me – and the same is true when He chose you.
Look at the passage from Lamentations with me:
“The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease.” Lamentations 3:22 (NLT)
Go ahead and circle the words – “never”. God’s faithful love “never” ends. God’s mercy “never” ceases. God does not reject believers when they sin because God is faithful – even when we are not. God’s love is unconditional.
Let’s move on to the second point – God offers His Restoring Grace to you:
2. Because our Salvation isn’t based on my PERFORMANCE
Our salvation is based on God’s grace – not our goodness. I could never be good enough to earn God’s forgiveness. God offers forgiveness to me and to you freely. The Bible tells us:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 (NKJV)
I never worked my way into Heaven so how do I think that I can work my way out? The only way you ever have any hope of getting into heaven is by the grace of God. You can’t earn your way to Heaven. You can’t work your way to Heaven. You can’t buy your way to Heaven. You can’t bluff your way to heaven. There is no other way to Heaven except for the Grace of God. The book of Titus tells us:
“He (God) saved us— not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” Titus 3:5 (HCSB)
If you don’t get into heaven on the grace of Jesus Christ, you’re not going to get there. It’s the only way. God does not reject me as a believer when I have sinned – He wants to restore me.
I have four sons. They are grown up now – but I can remember when they were toddlers. When it rained – they loved to go outside after the rain and play in the mud-puddles. They would take sticks and pretend they were boats. They would move the dirt around and make rivers and streams. They loved playing in the mud. In the process they would get filthy. They would be covered with mud from head to toe. Do you think that I stopped loving them because they were dirty? Do you think that I stopped loving them because they were filthy? No! There was nothing wrong with them that a little cleaning would not fix. God says:
“You have been washed and made holy, and you have received God’s approval in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:11 (GW)
My salvation is not based performance. It is not based on how clean I have made myself – it is based on the fact that God has cleaned me up. He has given me His Restoring Grace.
Point three – God offers His Restoring Grace to you:
3. Because Jesus has already taken my PUNISHMENT
Folks if you are a believer in Christ – your sins have been dealt with.
God does not ignore them. God does not hide them. God does not sweep them under the rug. God sent Jesus to deal with them.
Jesus paid the punishment for your sin. Because of this fact God does not reject you when you sin. Jesus has already taken the punishment for your sin if you have accepted Him as your Savior.
In America we have a law called the law of double jeopardy. The law of double jeopardy says you cannot be tried for the same crime twice. You cannot be convicted for the same crime twice. You cannot be punished for the same crime twice. God does not punish you for the same sin twice either.
Two thousand years ago, Jesus stretched out His arms on the cross and took the punishment for my sin and for your sin. He suffered for them all. He paid the price for every single sin you and I have committed. He took our conviction. He served our sentence. He was punished because of you and me. He died for us. The Bible says – "The wages for sin is death..." – someone had to suffer – someone had to die – someone had to pay for our sins. Jesus did. He died for your sin and for my sin.
What sins did He die for? All of them! The ones I have committed – the ones I will commit. He died for all of those. The sins you’ve done in the past and the ones you’re going to do in the future – Jesus has taken the punishment for them all. Because of this fact – God does not reject me because I am a sinner – He accepts me because my sins have been paid for and I have been forgiven.
Jesus cried out on the cross – “It is finished.” My sins have been paid for. The punishment has been accomplished. It is over. It is done. It is finished. God’s restoring grace is upon me – not because of what I have done – but because of what Christ has done for me. God has given me the free gift of His grace. He cleans me up – every time I fall. I pray that I will never fall again. I try to stay on the straight and narrow pathway – but sometimes I slip – and when I do – He picks me up and restores me. I thank God that He restores me over and over again. But God is merciful and gracious – and His love for me is never ending.
Let us move on to point four. God offers His Restoring Grace to you:
4. Because Jesus understands my human WEAKNESS
Jesus is sympathetic. He knows my frailties. He knows my faults. He knows what makes me tick. He knows how I’m wired. He understands me through and through. The Book of Hebrews tells us:
“We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tested in every way as we are, yet without sin.” Hebrews 4:15 (HCSB)
You see the truth of the matter is that Jesus became human – in order that He could sympathize with humans. Over in John chapter one it says:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. …..And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:1, 14 (NKJV)
One of the most beautiful truths you are going to need to learn in the Christian life is: God understands what you are going through.
He knows your weaknesses. He knows the thoughts that go through your mind. He knows the temptations that you are dealing with. He knows – because He lived just like one of us – yet He did not sin.
When Jesus was here on the earth He experienced every temptation known to humans. He says, “I understand it all. I have stood where you stand. I understand what it’s like to be a human being because I lived in human flesh for thirty three years.” He understands my weaknesses and He understands your weaknesses. He knows what you’re going through. He knows what it’s like to be tempted and He won’t reject us because of our human weaknesses. He will restore us with His Restoring Grace.
Point five. God offers His Restoring Grace to you:
5. Because God doesn’t hold on to GRUDGES
Many of us hold a grudge against someone – don’t we? How can I say that? Because there are some people I hold a grudge against. I find it hard to let things go. But look at what the Bible tells us about God:
“As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.” Psalms 103:12 (NKJV)
God is in the forgiving business. As far as the east is from the west – God removes our sins from us. When God forgives us – He forgives us completely. I remember my sins – you may remember your sins too. They haunt us. But when God forgives me – He treats me as if I have never sinned. “As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm one hundred and three gives us quit a glimpse into the character of God – follow along with me as I read:
“He (God) forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s! The Lord gives righteousness and justice to all who are treated unfairly. He revealed his character to Moses and his deeds to the people of Israel. The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.” Psalms 103:3-12 (NLT)
God’s character is different than ours. There are times when we will not let things go. We remember - we will not forgive. But that is not the case with God. He forgives to the fullest.
Peter at one time came to Jesus and asked, "Master, how many times do I forgive a brother or sister who hurts me? Should I forgive them seven times?" Jesus replied, "Seven times! Hardly! Try seventy times seven.” If Jesus instructed Peter to forgive over and over again – don’t you think that Jesus will forgive over and over again. The forgiveness of God is displayed through Jesus. Even when Jesus was being put to death on the cross He said, "Father forgive then - for they know not what they do." When we let God down - He forgives us over and over again. God is in the forgiving business. I thank God that He is – don’t you? God tells us:
“Come back, you rebellious people, and I will forgive you for being unfaithful.” Jeremiah 3:22 (GW)
This is God’s Restoring Grace. He takes me back. He cleans me up – because He loves me and He loves you too. God’s love is unconditional - my sins have been paid for - God does not hold a grudge - but He shows His love to me - even when I still sin against Him - because He is full of mercy and wants to show me His Restoring Grace.
