ME:What we believe,
why we believe it, why it matters. 1) Bible, 2) God, 3) Jesus, 4)
Holy Spirit, 5) Church, 6) Salvation
(reverse the order except for the curriculum)
WE:►“We believe that all men are born in sin and that the only
way of salvation is by personal, believing faith in Christ Jesus the
Savior with the regeneration of the Holy Spirit through whom God
makes us eternally secure.” (about Jesus: “His substitutionary and
atoning death through His shed blood…”)
►“SALVATION
IS BY GRACE ALONE, THROUGH FAITH ALONE, IN CHRIST ALONE”
GOD: ►Romans
5:6-8 You see, at
just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for
the ungodly … But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
1)“…when
we were still powerless…” – ►UNABLE to save ourselves
►Deuteronomy
32:36 The Lord
will judge his people and have compassion on his servants when he
sees their strength is gone and no one is left, slave or free.
►Matthew
5:3"Blessed
are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
UNABLE
to save ourselves, The
only response possible is “ruthless trust”, “whosoever
believes in (who Jesus is and what Jesus did)
will not perish but have everlasting
life.”
First
step to genuine relationship with Christ: accept my lack of ability
to save myself
ILLUSTRATION:Recovering alcoholic recognizing his
helplessness to control his drinking
“The philosophy of tough love is based
on the conviction that no effective recovery can take place until a
man admits that he is powerless over alcohol and his life has become
unmanageable.” (Manning p. 133)
2)“…Christ
died for the ungodly” –
NOT ONLY UNABLE BUT ALSO ►UNWILLING
Romans 1:28-32 “Since
(people) thought it foolish to
acknowledge God, He abandoned them to their foolish thinking…Their
lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate,
envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip.►They
are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They
invent new ways of sinning.They refuse to understand, break their promises, are
heartless, and have no mercy…Worse yet, they encourage others to do
them, too!”
MESSAGE BIBLE: “Since
they didn't bother to acknowledge God, God quit bothering them and
let them run loose. And then all hell broke loose:
…”
The problem we face as “lawyers” – we’re arguing a case we can’t
win! (Even God has stopped trying)
Second step to genuine relationship with Christ: a reason to
reconsider Jesus
ILLUSTRATION:
An alcoholic’s dishonesty about his daughter and call to his wife
3)
Sinners “While
we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
- UNWORTHY
NOT ONLY UNABLE AND UNWILLING BUT ALSO►UNWORTHY
Romans 3:23
“For everyone has sinned; we all fall
short of God’s glorious standard.”
►Psalm 53:
“No
one is righteous, not even one. No one is truly wise; no one is
seeking God.All have
turned away; all have become useless.No one does what is good, not a single one.”
►1 John 1:8. 10
“If we claim to be without sin, we
deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us …If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and
his word has no place in our lives.”
Third step to genuine relationship: acceptance of need, abandonment
of all worthiness
ILLUSTRATION:
The rest of Max’s story
►“SALVATION
IS BY GRACE ALONE, THROUGH FAITH ALONE, IN CHRIST ALONE”
►SO WHAT?1 John 1:9 “If
we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our
sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
ILLUSTRATION:
Bishop and the woman who claimed to have visions of Jesus:“Ask Jesus to tell you the sins I confessed at my last
confession.Response: “I
DON’T REMEMBER!”
►WHAT NOW?
►1)Christ’s
love compels us to respond.
If we confess our sins
“Repentance is not what we do to earn forgiveness, it is what we do
because we have been forgiven.” (Manning, p. 73)
►2)
Christ’s love compels us to love and good deeds:
Not saved BY
good works, saved FOR
good works
A loving God fosters a loving people
ILLUSTRATION:
Sinner excommunicated and forbidden from entering the church; took
his woes to God: “They won’t let me in, Lord, because I’m a sinner.”
God:
“What are you complaining about, they won’t let me in either!”
►3)Christ’s
love compels us to tell others.
2 Corinthians 5:18-20All this is from God, who reconciled
us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of
reconciliation: that God
was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's
sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of
reconciliation.
We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his
appeal through us.
ILLUSTRATION:
Meal sharing in the New Testament: Jesus to Zaccheus: “Come
down, I want to
(enter into friendship with you).”
►Our
Mission:
Glorify God, extend His kingdom, RECONCILE the world to Himself
1 Timothy 2:4 …God,
our Savior … wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of
the truth.
Hebrews 9:27-28
Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face
judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of
many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but
to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
Legend:
Green:
Mission and Vision Blue: Illustrations and quotes
Red: Scripture
Note to the visitor:
These are Pastor Paul’s sermon notes from
Sunday Morning. They probably
won’t make much sense if you weren’t in the service. Feel
free to contact
Pastor Paul
if you’d like more detailed information. For past sermons, please visit the
Sermon Archive.
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"I am not ashamed of
the gospel of Christ, because it is the power of God for the salvation
of everyone who believes..." Romans 1:16 (New International Version)
