Dakota Community Church
October 2, 2011
Grace Transforms 4
Ephesians 2:8
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast.
1. What is biblical grace?
2. Where does grace originate?
3. Grace transforms; but how?
Colossians 1:9-14
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Paul tells the Colossian Church that He is praying for what we all want - changed lives!
He wants them living worthily, pleasing God with their lifestyles, bearing fruit, growing, becoming stronger, more tenacious, patient, joyful and thankful to God.
Who doesn’t want that?
So we read the passage and others like it and we do what?
WE GET BUSY - We miss where Paul says the power for that transformation is found!
Grace Transforms:
A. When the gospel is central.
B. When the gospel is not turned into law
C. When we understand the great exchange - substitutionary atonement
Jesus died on the cross in our place suffering the just punishment that was due to us.
He absorbed the wrath of God for us who believe.
Like Abraham we believe and Christ’s righteousness is imputed or credited to us.
It is a gift; no one can boast.
What is the source of that righteousness? - The sinless life of Christ
Jesus lives a sinless life for us, we do not - we cannot - stand before God in anything less than holy perfection, so He gives us His righteousness.
2 Corinthians 5:21
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Matthew 5:17
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
He fulfilled the law - that is the righteous life credited to our account.
It’s all about Jesus and what He has done.
There is nothing whatsoever about the gospel that encourages us to focus on ourselves - nothing.
What about examine yourself to see whether you are in the faith?
TO SEE WHETHER YOU ARE IN THE FAITH!
There is a tremendous amount of Christian narcissism, Christians who are absolutely fixated and obsessed with how they’re doing.
Spiritual naval gazing - how am I doing, Am I good enough, am I doing everything right?
We do it under the guise of pursuing holiness and practicing godliness and sanctification. But the fact of the matter is we are obsessed with ourselves.
The good news is that our relationship to God has nothing to do with our performance and everything to do with Christ’s performance for us.
We naturally drift into performance mode - it is the fallen human default setting. We think, "My good behavior generates affection from God, and my bad behavior generates so His anger. So God’s relationship to me is ultimately dependent on how I’m doing."
Grace tells us that God’s acceptance of us is not gained by our successes or forfeited by our failures because it’s not about us.
Grace Transforms:
D. When we enter His rest
Here is the incredible twist.
I know I need to change, I am painfully aware of the gaping chasm between what I am in Christ and how I appear to be.
All of my diligent effort actually takes me in the opposite direction.
Rules do not produce obedient hearts; rules breed rebellion. My hard work is counterproductive.
Hebrews 4:9-11
There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.
How many would describe the Christian life as restful? Why so few I wonder?
Could it be because the overwhelming message being generated by the church today is: "Do more, try harder"?
We act as though we believe salvation by moral improvement.
Do you want more out of life? Are you ready to get serious with God? Well here’s how you do it check off the list, apply the principles, insert the hidden keys into the invisible locks - You can do it!
We take joyful free new believers and shackle them to burdens we ourselves cannot bear.
You gotta be at church twice on Sunday, you gotta be at church on Wednesday, you gotta volunteer in the nursery, you gotta join a home group, you gotta attend women’s Bible study, you gotta be at men’s night, you gotta, you gotta, you gotta...
Like Mary when Martha is busy and concerned with many things "Don’t just do something - sit there!
Grace Transforms:
E. As God increasingly becomes my source
Where do you go for comfort after a loss or to celebrate the victories?
Food, Casual Sex, the Bottle, Shopping, Exercise, Work, these are all poor substitute sources
What is the one thing you have always wanted?
"If only I could find a good woman/man to love and respect me and build a family with me."
"If only my dad would finally admit that he is proud of me and all I have accomplished."
"If I could just get financially free, reach the place of independence where there isn’t always something just out of my reach."
When you think about life what makes it all worthwhile?
"I may have made a complete train wreck of things but at least the kids are great."
"This home/property/cabin/boat/portfolio is what I really live for; as long as I have this I’ll be ok!"
The young adult who has never been able to gain his father’s approval cannot take his sense of value from that relationship; neither can my sons who have grown up in an environment of parental approval.
When we fix our eyes on the gospel, we begin to wash our hands of ourselves.
It becomes possible to make radical statements - that are true!
Philippians 1:20-21
I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
Philippians 3:8
I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.
Grace Transforms:
F. When liberty takes hold
Everything we need and long for, in Christ we already possess.
Colossians 1:12-14
12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Everything I need and long for, in Christ I already possess.
Understand that, you¡¦re marriage will change; your relationships will be transformed because now you can spend your life going to the back of the line instead of fighting your way to the front. Now you can spend your life giving instead of taking, because you don’t need anything.
Everything you need, in Christ you have.
Rediscovering the gospel is enabling me to see:
Jesus is strong - I’m free to be weak
Jesus is someone - I’m free to be no one
Jesus is extraordinary - I’m free to be ordinary
Jesus succeeded - I’m free to fail
Jesus won - I’m was free to lose
Though-out this whole church planting thing I have been so afraid of failure -what will "they" think of me?
The failure or success of this church does not define me - Jesus does.
Whether I win or lose does not define me - Jesus does.
The same is true for you - grace transforms us - as liberty takes hold!
You’re free to lose, because Jesus won for you.
Nothing in this broken world can beat a person who isn’t afraid to lose.
Freedom from all that self-centeredness enables us to live a life of scandalous generosity, unrestrained sacrifice, uncommon valor, unbounded courage and radical mercy.
There’s no way that we can do all the things Jesus tells us to do apart from the gospel.
We can’t do it unless we understand He won for me; therefore I’m free to lose.
Everything I need, in Christ I have, so now I can spend my life giving myself away.
Praise God for his wondrous grace.
PowerPoint available (Free of charge) on request dcormie@mts.net
Follow Dan on twitter: @DanCormie
