WHO NEEDS THE GRACE OF GOD?
Romans 1-3
John 8:2-11
INTRODUCTION:
1.) Sin as it infiltrates our lives is a very interesting thing.
2.) One of the amazing things of sin is that it tends to put blinders on our eyes.
3.) Today as we look at the Word of God we are going to see individuals who definitely were in need of the grace of God, and who knew themselves they needed that grace.
4.) But I also want us to look at others who were every bit as much in need of the grace of God, but because they thought they were good and Godly people did not realize they also had need for the grace of God.
5.) The reality is that every person who has ever committed even one sin is in need of the grace of God.
I. THE WICKED ARE IN NEED OF THE GRACE OF GOD.
1.) This woman caught in adultery needed the grace of God.
A.) John 8:2-5
B.) God is very clear on marriage and on the marriage bed.
ba.) When this woman was caught she was having sexual relations with another woman’s husband.
ba-1.) The entire passage was a trap for Jesus. The man should also have been brought before Jesus.
bb.) God’s law demanded that such a person be put to death.
bb-1.) In the New Testament the Bible gives warnings of the fire of hell for those who so acted.
bb-2.) Jesus certainly had the right to order that the people would stone this woman to her death.
bb-3.) Before getting too caught up in merely this act of adultery, let us look at Paul’s words to the Romans about sin.
2.) The Apostle Paul in the first chapter of Romans speaks considerably on the wicked.
-- Rom. 1:18; 21-31
A.) When we look at this list of people we would give a hearty Amen to the acknowledgement of their wickedness.
aa.) In asking who needs the grace of God, we would certainly state that this woman caught in adultery needed the grace of God.
ab.) We would also agree with the wickedness of Paul’s list of those who are sexually immoral, as well as murderers, slanderers, God-haters, those who are heartless or cold-hearted, and others that we would see as some of the most wicked of the sinful
B.) When Paul was making those statements it is probable that the Jewish Pharisees, and other religious leaders were there, and like us today were giving a hearty Amen to the words Paul was speaking.
C.) The conclusion of those in that day whether with the woman in adultery, or these others whom Paul described would have been unanimous and summarized by the apostle Paul:
ca.) Rom. 1:32 "that those who do such things
deserve death."
C.) As much as the wicked are in need of the grace of God, I want us to look at a second group who equally need the grace of God.
II. THE RIGHEOUS ARE IN NEED OF THE GRACE OF GOD.
1.) Dealing with the woman caught in adultery were the righteous.
A.) Those who brought this woman to Jesus were those who were considered righteous.
aa.) Those who were living for God.
ab.) The religious leaders.
ac.) These weren’t the wicked and the godless, but the devoted, the godly, the good, the upright, the righteous, upstanding members of society.
2.) These ones were the good religious people who felt they had it together.
A.) These are the respectable church members, the ones who tithe, teach Sunday School classes, lead the worship service or sing in the choir. These are the ones will lead the youth group, or organize the social committee of the church.
aa.) To be perfectly honest, these are the ones we hope will join our church .
3.) When Paul was speaking to the church at Rome those people were present there as well.
A.) In Chapter one, Paul was preaching of the wicked and their need for the grace of God.
aa.) We can almost hear the people as they sing out Amen! Preach on Paul! Tell them how wicked they are! Tell them they need the Grace of God!
4.) Paul did preach on. But now he moves to Chapter two where he preaches to the Righteous. He preaches to those who felt they had it together.
A.) This is the part the Jewish leaders were not as comfortable with.
B.) This is also the part we are not as comfortable with.
C.) This is the part where Paul turns to the righteous, and begins to step on a few toes.
D.) This is the part where Paul turns to the good and upright people like you and I and reminds us that we also need the grace of God.
III. THOSE WHO DON’T REALIZE IT NEED THE GRACE OF GOD.
1.) Perhaps we have already touched on this with the Righteous.
A.) The Righteous ( and that includes you and I) feel we have it together and forget that we are in need of God’s Grace.
2.) Others feel they have never done anything wicked enough to have need for the grace of God.
A.) We have the tendency of looking at ourselves as being fairly good.
3.) In the account of this woman taken in adultery Jesus points out the reality of sin and sinfulness.
A.) John 8:7-9
B.) These people came to point out the sinfulness of this adulterous woman.
C.) Jesus pointed out to them that she was not the only one there who was sinful and in need of the grace of God.
D.) Notice who it was who first left when convicted of sin: The older men.
da.) Why the older? Were they any more wicked than the younger?
db.) Before God both the older and the younger equally guilty of sin.
dc.) The difference is that the older men though equally guilty before God, had lived 40- 50 more years than the younger men.
dc-1.) When Jesus pointed out the matter of sin the older generation had more sin, and guilt, and regret, and shame over sin than the younger.
dd..) To illustrate this let me do an experiment with you.
dd-1.) If somebody committed 20 sins a week would that person be a good person?
dd-li.) I am not talking about big sins.
--Losing your temper. --A few profane syllables when you are late for work and the
person in front of you is in no hurry.
-- Taking five minutes of
your boss’s time when you are at work to send a text message to a friend
--- Passing on a little morsel of Gossip.
dd-lii.) Now figure it up. 20 sins a week means more than 1,000 sins in one year. It means in our lifetime that somebody we would consider good and
righteous had sinned against God at least 70-80,000 times.
dd-liii.) When we see this amount of sin, we understand why with this woman in adultery it was the older men who were the first to recognize how wicked they were before God, and how much they needed God’s Grace as much as the woman in adultery.
CONCLUSION:
1.) As I bring this message to a close I am going to do something you are never supposed to do in a sermon, and that is to introduce a new thought.
2.) To close today, I want to look at how the Apostle Paul dealt with the issue of who needs the Grace of God?
A.) Rom. Chapter 1 : Paul speaks of the wicked.
aa.) He speaks of the lifestyle of the wicked
aa-1.) Sexual immorality, homosexuality, Hatred, murder, envy, strife, the heartless, people who are ruthless, etc.
aa-2.) Notice Paul’s conclusion for such People: "those who do such things deserve death..." (vs. 32)
B.) Rom. Chapter 2: Paul speaks on the Righteous: The Jews – those who knew the law of God, and by the standards of that day or our day would have been considered pretty good people.
ba.) Of these who were righteous, Paul said: "The law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker."
C.) Paul sums it up in Chapter 3:
9-12: "Are we any better" Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin.
As it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one;
there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.
All have turned away, they have become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one."
3.) Paul reveals the real picture of anyone of us before God.
A.) Rom. 6:23a.
aa.) "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..."
ab.) This is how we stand before God.
B.) The good news is that Paul finishes that statement:
ba.) Rom. 6:23b.:
bb.) "and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
