Introduction

Friends, welcome. If you walked in today with a weary heart, a worried mind, or a wound that won’t seem to heal, you’re in good company. We bring our whole selves to God—our victories and our valleys, our bright smiles and our buried secrets. Deep down, we sense something is wrong, and we long for what is right. We know the ache of missing the mark and the fear that maybe we are the mark that has been missed. Have you ever wondered, Is there mercy for someone like me? Is there hope for a heart like mine?

Here’s good news for ordinary people with ordinary pain: mercy has a name, and hope wears a scarred set of hands. The grace of God meets us where we are and does what we cannot do for ourselves. Adrian Rogers wrote, "God grades on the Cross, not on the curve." That simple sentence sounds like cool water to parched souls. We do not have to impress God to be embraced by God. We do not have to pretend; we can present our real selves, and Christ meets us with real love.

Today, we will look at the truth about sin and why it leaves us helpless. We will see the love of God displayed on the cross of Christ, love that speaks our name with tenderness and authority. And we will respond by confessing Jesus as Lord and receiving the life He freely gives. What if the forgiveness you’ve been craving is closer than you imagined? What if assurance is available here, now, as you turn your heart toward Him? Grace is patient and personal. Grace is God’s kindness moving toward you with nail-pierced certainty.

So, take a deep breath. Lay down the heavy backpack of guilt and the briefcase of self-salvation. Let the Shepherd lift the burden from your shoulders. He knows your fears and your failures, your questions and your quiet cries. He is gentle with the broken and strong for the battered. He restores, He rescues, He raises dead hearts to life. Let’s open our ears and our expectations to the Word that does not wither and the Promise that does not pass away.

Scripture Reading: - John 3:16 (KJV): For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. - Romans 3:23 (KJV): For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; - Romans 6:23 (KJV): For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. - Romans 5:8 (KJV): But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. - Romans 10:9 (KJV): That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Opening Prayer: Father, we come with open hands and honest hearts. Thank You for loving the world with a love that gives and a love that saves. Thank You for Jesus, who bore our sin and brings us peace. Holy Spirit, shine light on our hearts. Show us the truth about our sin without shame swallowing us, and show us the truth about the Savior with hope filling us. Tune our ears to Your voice, soften our wills to Your Word, and strengthen our faith to respond. Let today be a day of clear conviction, sweet consolation, and bold confession: Jesus is Lord. Seal Your promises upon us, and grant that eternal life would be received with gratitude and joy. In the strong name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

Sin Exposed and Our Helpless Condition

Sin is not a small smudge on a clean page. It is the tear in the page. It runs through our thoughts, our choices, and our loves. It shows up in the things we do and in the good we ignore. It bends our hearts inward. It leaves us empty and tired.

When light shines on that truth, we feel exposed. We say, I meant well. We say, I tried. Yet the gap remains. We feel the weight of it. We sense that we cannot close the gap with effort or excuses.

John 3:16 tells us why this exposure matters. It starts with love. Not our love. God’s love. God loves a world that is cracked and weary. He does not look for clean hands before He cares. He sees the stain and moves toward it.

That means no one is outside His sight. The hidden thing you fear to bring up is seen. The old habit you cannot break is seen. The anger you carry is seen. The numbness you hide is seen. Love does not wink at any of it. Love looks full at it.

This is hard news and kind news at the same time. Hard, because it removes our mask. Kind, because the gaze that finds us does not turn away. When the Bible says God loves the world, it includes the world as it is. That includes me. That includes you.

So our condition is not denied. It is faced. Love faces it. Love names it. Love refuses to call poison medicine. Love does not flatter. Love tells the truth so that help can come.

God loved, and then God gave. Giving tells us something about our state. We did not have the cure. We did not have the payment. We did not have the life we needed. So He gave His Son.

This gift was not a tip. It was not a token. It was His own Son entering our mess. He took on our weakness. He entered our hours and our hunger and our hurt. He stood in our place under the weight we could not carry.

The cross shows the cost. Sin is not a paper cut. It bleeds out life. The life of Jesus answers that loss. He steps under the debt. He does not stand far off and call us higher. He comes near and lifts what crushed us.

Think about what that says about our helpless state. If there was another door, He would not have walked this path. If we could climb out, He would not have laid down His life. The gift tells the truth about how deep the problem goes.

The verse speaks of belief. Many of us think belief is a nod. A simple yes to a set of facts. In Scripture, belief is trust. It is leaning your full weight on Jesus.

Trust grows where self-sufficiency dies. When you see that you cannot clean yourself, trust starts to make sense. When you see that effort cannot erase guilt, trust rises like dawn. You take your hands off the wheel. You stop pretending you can save yourself.

Belief is personal. It is not faith in faith. It is faith in Him. You turn to a Person. You turn to Jesus who lived, died, and rose. You bring the wreck and the ruin. You tell the truth. You ask for mercy. Your mouth begins to say what your heart begins to hold.

This trust is not a ladder. It is an empty hand. It receives. It rests on a promise that was paid for by Another. It takes Him at His word when He says He came for sinners. It stops bargaining and starts relying.

The verse then speaks of two ends. Sin does not fade on its own. Sin leads to loss. It breaks bodies and breaks homes. It breaks communion with God. That loss stretches into forever unless grace steps in.

Everlasting life is not only length. It is life with God. It is a new kind of life that starts now and continues without end. It is clean fellowship. It is a new heart that wants what God wants. It is peace where there was panic. It is hope where there was haze.

Our helpless state makes this life sound like a dream. It is more than a dream. It is offered. It is held out to people who cannot fix themselves. It is held out to people with a record and a past and a pattern.

So the truth is plain. We were exposed. We were unable. God saw. God gave. We trust. We receive. The verse holds all of this together like a strong cord. It ties our need to His love and His gift to our empty hands.

This is why we stop hiding. This is why we stop boasting. This is why the mask can fall to the floor. The God who knows the worst about us has already moved toward us in His Son. His promise is clear. His reach is long. His life is real.

Love Demonstrated through the Cross of Christ

"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us ... View this full PRO sermon free with PRO