tgp how grace affects lives july 3 2016

How does living in the

Amazing Grace of God

impact our lives?

1. Our “Circumcised Hearts” make us WANT to please our Heavenly Father.

2. God’s Amazing Grace Activates us as His Ambassadors.

3. Testimonies from the saints about how Grace has impacted their lives.

4. God’s Amazing Grace frees us to celebrate the Lord’s Supper CONFIDENTLY and JOYFULLY.

1. A Circumcised Heart –

The ‘Parable’ of

The Hippie’s Haircut

2. God’s Amazing Grace

ACTIVATES

us as His AMBASSADORS!

In God’s wonderful New Covenant,

He calls Christians many things.

Here are some of them:

New Creations (or Creatures)

Saints

Children of God

Priests and Ambassadors

2 Cor 5: 17 – 21:

So, in 2 Corinthians 5: 17 to 21, God calls us:

NEW CREATIONS

AMBASSADORS

(Quick question: What does an ambassador do?)

And He gives us:

A TASK

And A MESSAGE

Anybody remember what they were!?

THE TASK OF RECONCILIATION:

THE MESSAGE OF RECONCILIATION:

“So . . . .EASY SO?” (You may say.)

“JUST LIKE THAT God is suddenly not counting people’s sins against them?”

NO! . . . .NOT “Easy So”

NOT “Just like that” . . . .HERE’S what it took for God not to count our sins against us:

(2 Cor 5: 21)

God counted our sins against JESUS and Jesus paid the penalty

for them IN FULL.

So now, God is no longer counting them against us.

The moment Jesus died on the cross, God stopped counting our sins against us – that’s why He was able to TEAR the “Sin Curtain” in

the temple in two the moment Jesus died!

SO! Here is our message of reconciliation,

from 2 Cor 5: 17 to 21.

This is the GOOD NEWS a lost soul needs to hear:

God is not counting your sins against you.

That’s because He counted them against JESUS and JESUS paid the penalty for them instead of you.

If you believe in Jesus, God will give you eternal life and will give to you

JESUS’ PERFECT RIGHTEOUSNESS.

And we can quote 2 Cor 5: 18 and 21:

Now the lost soul has the opportunity to REPENT.To REPENT means he changes his MIND – about two things:

1. About SIN: He now starts to see sin as God sees it –as totally abhorrent and destructive – something to be avoided at all costs.

2. About God: He probably used to see God as judgmental and remote – someone to be afraid of and to stay far from. He must now see God as His Loving Heavenly Father, who loves and accepts him, who is no longer counting his sins against him and who wants to consider him RIGHT in His sight.

A Father that he can have a close, loving relationship with because Jesus by His death has

RECONCILED him to God.

If the lost soul repents – changes his mind - in these two ways and accepts God’s wonderful gift of salvation, righteousness and LIFE, he then becomes:

A New Creation (or Creature)

A Saint

A Child of God

A Priest and An Ambassador.

(And the body of Christ has just grown

by one new member! And there is rejoicing among the angels in Heaven!)

So, God’s Amazing Grace

Activates us to be effective

Ambassadors!

Sadly, people can be Christians for YEARS and yet still have not truly understood God’s

message of reconciliation – the message that as God’s ambassadors they are to share!

Many Christians believe that God is still counting at least some of their sins against them – even though

He clearly says that He is NOT, because He has already counted them against Jesus,

as we have seen.

And many, many, many Christians have no idea that in Christ, they have been credited with the very

RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD.

So let us now investigate these important questions– Did Jesus really

take away the sin of the world?

Is God REALLY no longer counting our sins against us?

Here are

SIX

AMAZING TRUTHS

ABOUT OUR SALVATION

6 AMAZING SALVATION TRUTHS:1. Two thousand years ago, Jesus paid the price

for and took away all the sin of the whole world – one sacrifice for all time.

2. When we trust in Jesus, God JUSTIFIES us – He declares us to be as holy and righteous as Jesus Himself.

3. When we trust in Jesus, our perfectly holy God comes to live right inside of us!

4. God can live in us because, in His sight, we do not have the slightest stain of sin, but we are perfectly holy and righteous.

5. The “sin curtain” is GONE, because God counted our sin against Jesus and is no longer counting it against us.

6. God’s amazing salvation gives us VICTORYover sin and develops righteousness in us over time.

Amazing Salvation Truths Numbers 2 to 6 are only possible if Amazing Salvation Truth Number 1

is true – they are only possible if Jesus really HAS taken away the sin of the world and therefore,

God is no longer counting our sins against us.

(If you want to explore these 6 Salvation Truths in detail, get a copy of our Amazing Grace Booklet and come to our Amazing Grace Course on Thursday evenings.)

Right now, we will concentrate on these 2 truths:

Two thousand years ago, Jesus paid the price for and took away all the sin of the whole world – one sacrifice for all time.

The “sin curtain” is GONE, because God counted our sin against Jesus and is no longer counting it against us.

“Sin taken away in Jesus” is constantly taught throughout the Bible (Old and New Covenants.)

But the clearest and most detailed teaching of all is found in Hebrews Chapters 8 to 10.

Why is this, you may wonder.

Because the book of Hebrews was written to people who were in danger of giving up their trust in Jesus’ salvation and going back to the Law with its animal sacrifices. (They were facing persecution as Christians.)

The writer is helping them to see the SUPERIORITY and SUFFICIENCY of Jesus’ ONCE FOR ALL FOR ALL TIME sacrifice and encouraging them NOT to give up the “SO GREAT SALVATION” that they have IN CHRIST.

Let us prayerfully read excerpts from Hebrews 8-10.

• Old Rules about Worship

• Christ Is the Perfect Sacrifice

Christ’s Sacrifice Once for All

So, Hebrews Chapters 8 to 10 teach us CLEARLY:

1. Jesus’ death established a New and Better Covenant between God and man.

2. The Old Covenant was based on animal sacrifices, which could NEVER take away our sins, so they never stopped being offered.

3. Jesus offered Himself as the perfect and compete sacrifice – the sacrifice that DID take away our sins – ONCE for ALL for ALL TIME, so sacrifices have now STOPPED!

NOW! Here comes the ‘GRAND FINALE’ of what the writer of Hebrews wants us to understand.

This is what he has been leading up to for

the last 3 Chapters.

He starts off with “And so” . . . or “Therefore”.

“And so” or “Therefore” means, “In the light of all I’ve taught you in Chapters 8 to 10, here is what it means to YOU that Jesus has taken away all your

sins by a single sacrifice, good for all time.”

And then he writes to the Hebrews (and to us)

Hebrews Ch 10: 19 – 22:

• A Call to Persevere

Anybody here notices the BOMBSHELL

quality of these words?

Anybody here sees why these are some of the most DRAMATIC words in the entire Bible?

The writer has just stated that because of the blood of Jesus, WE can go RIGHT THROUGH the CURTAIN,

RIGHT INTO THE PRESENCE OF GOD,

in Heaven’s MOST HOLY PLACE!

(And, in fact, the “Sin Curtain” in the temple was NO LONGER there! The moment Jesus died, God

had TORN IT IN TWO – to dramatically show us the

truth that Hebrews 10: 19 – 22 teaches.)

And note carefully that WE can ENTER BOLDLY!

When the High Priest in the Old Covenant entered God’s Presence behind the curtain once a year, did he enter BOLDLY?

NO! He entered in fear and trembling, hoping that he had done all his atoning for sin EXACTLY RIGHT and hoping that he would not die because he had forgotten something, or done something wrong.

If he HAD done something wrong, when he entered God would still be counting his sin against him and he would DIE!

So, how come WE can enter BOLDLY?

How come WE don’t have “cleansing procedures” to go through before we can enter God’s Holy

Presence?

Many Christians think, for example, that

“Unconfessed Sin” in our lives is sin that

God has not yet forgiven and taken away.

Don’t we have to ensure that we have confessed all our sins before we dare enter God’s presence?

If we DO, the writer of Hebrews has not been kind to us with his call to enter BOLDLY – he should warn

us to be sure to confess all our sins first.

In fact, he has given us A DEATH SENTENCE if our unconfessed sin is still being counted against us

and he has told us to enter BOLDLY,

without warning us to confess our sins first.

If we enter God’s Presence with God counting even a SINGLE sin against us, like the High Priest, we are

DEAD.

But the writer of Hebrews tells us the REASON

we can enter BOLDLY:

The blood that has taken away:

ALL SIN The blood from:

“a SINGLE sacrifice for sin, good for all time.”

The fact that WE can BOLDLY enter God’s presence without “cleansing procedures” is the climax of Hebrews Chapters 8 to 10. It’s the strongest proof that the writer of Hebrews can give that:

So WE go – that is, trusting

JESUS and the cleansing work that HE did

2000 years ago!

So – back to our morning’s theme:

Living in God’s Amazing Grace

Activates us to be effective

Ambassadors!We Christians often have two BIG

stumbling blocks as we seek to be God’s ambassadors to the lost:

1. We try to be God’s ambassadors from

“outside the curtain”

with guilt and a lack of assurance

affecting our relationship with God.

Jamie at the men’s retreat spoke exactly about this when he asked the men,

“How can God use YOU to set people free from SHAME, GUILT and CONDEMNATION, when

YOU yourself are living in

Guilt, Shame and Condemnation?”

God wants us to be His ambassadors from WITHIN the curtain - safe and secure in God’s presence, “accepted in the Beloved”, full of love, joy and peace with full assurance that in God’s sight

WE are as righteous as JESUSThe lost can tell the difference!

If WE are UNCERTAIN about our

standing with God, our

Ambassadorial Activities will be UNCERTAIN also!

Stumbling Block Number 2:

We often clearly see and concentrate on the sinfulness and the sinful ways of the lost.

Put it another way – WE are often COUNTING THEIR SINS AGAINST them, even while we seek to witness to them about what Jesus has done!

This can make our attitude and the way we come across to people judgmental and condemning.

Make no mistake, the lost pick this up immediately also!

We need to remember, the same way God is not counting our sins against US, He is NOT counting their sins against THEM!!

The difference between the lost and we Christians is NOT sin!

God is not counting their sins against THEM just like He is not counting ours against US. ALL sin has been counted against JESUS!

The difference between the lost and we Christians is that we have BELIEVED and we therefore have LIFE.

THIS is the message of reconciliation that we are to give to the lost!

God is NOT COUNTING YOUR SINS AGAINST YOU!

He has come to GIVE YOU LIFE!

BELIEVE on Jesus and you will have LIFE!

When our Ambassadorial Activities are based on the

SURE FOUNDATION of God’s Amazing Grace; on WHO WE ARE IN CHRIST, they will be MUCH MORE

EFFECTIVE!

Now, a very important question:

Christians are FORGIVEN PEOPLE.

But

SHOULD CHRISTIANS

CONFESS THEIR SINS?

YES!

But NOT in order to be FORGIVEN!

(Christians are FORGIVEN PEOPLE!)

Christians should confess their sins in order to be

TRANSFORMED – CHANGED!

(2 Cor 3: 18)

The Greek word for “confess” is

“Homologeo”

This is from 2 Greek words:

• “Homou”, meaning “together with” and

• “Lego”, meaning “to say.”

So, “Homologeo” means “To say together with”

or, “to agree with.”

When we “Homologeo”, or confess our sin to God, we are AGREEING with Him,

or ADMITTING that we have sinned.

Can we be transformed if we

do not agree with God that we have sinned and we do not admit that

we have done wrong?

NO!

So a Christian “homologeoes” to start the transformation process.

• He agrees with God that he has sinned.

• He THANKS God that he is a forgiven person and that God is not counting that sin against him.

• He thanks God that God is at work in him, transforming him into the image of Jesus with ever-increasing glory and giving him VICTORYover that sin and every other sin.

Knowing that we are forgiven people –knowing that God is not counting our sins

against us actually FREES us to be open and honest with God

and with our fellow human beings

about our many

shortcomings and “ways.”

When we understand that God Himself has JUSTIFIED us – has declared us NOT GUILTY of sin,

but perfectly righteous in His sight –

we no longer fear accusation or condemnation from God or from other people.

We are FREE to openly and honestly “Homologeo” our sins to both God and to each other and from

that open and honest “Homologeing” comes

TRANSFORMATION

and VICTORY OVER SIN.

So, saints!

Let us Activate our Ambassadorial Activities with a FULL UNDERSTANDING and ASSURANCE of God’s

message of reconciliation to the world:

Remember, we saw earlier:

If WE are UNCERTAIN about our standing with God, ourAmbassadorial Activities will be

UNCERTAIN also!

But when we KNOW that God is no longer counting our sins against us – and that he has

given us JESUS’ righteousness, our Ambassadorial Activities will be full of confidence and love!

Who do you think will be a more effective Ambassador for Jesus?

1. An “uncertain” saint who is full of Guilt, Shame and Condemnation?

2. Or a saint who is confident of his standing In Christ and who is full of:

love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,

and self-control.

WE know the answer – and so does SATAN.

That’s why he does everything he can to keep us in FEAR / GUILT / SHAME and CONDEMNATION.

But let US, God’s Ambassadors, declare right now:

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. We will stand firm and will

not let ourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

3. Testimonies from the saints about

living in

God’s Amazing Grace.

4. God’s Amazing Grace

frees us to celebrate

the Lord’s Supper CONFIDENTLY and JOYFULLY.

Here is a passage of Scripture that is nearly always read before the saints participate in the Lord’s Supper:

“So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an

unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Everyone ought to examine

themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the

body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves.”

This is from 1 Corinthians 11: 17 – 34, the

well-known “Lord’s Supper” passage.

The words “judge” or “judgment” appear FOUR times in this passage.

Sadly, when it is read as the Lord’s Supper is about to be shared, the pastor usually tells the flock that

if they partake with

UNCONFESSED SIN in their lives, they will be

eating and drinking JUDGMENT upon themselves.

He then usually invites the people to examine themselves for a couple of minutes

and silently confess any unconfessed sin,

so that they may partake “worthily.”

The result of this is that many people then partake WITH GUILT ( and some don’t partake AT ALL),

because they are wondering,

“Did I remember and confess EVERY sin?”

This must make our Lord Jesus Christ

VERY SAD.Perhaps He thinks, “Do these people think we are still in the Old Covenant, with Days of Atonement, when the people confessed their sin and rebellion again and again, because the shed blood of bulls

and goats could only COVER sin and could not

TAKE IT AWAY?”

“Did they not hear what I said the night before I

shed MY blood?”

I said:

“Do they not understand that MY blood,

the blood of The Lamb of God,

TOOK AWAY the sin of the world?”

“Do they not understand that I gave them the “Lord’s Supper” so that they could

REMEMBER AND CELEBRATE

THAT I TOOK THEIR SIN AWAY?”

“Don’t they understand that MY shed blood enables New Covenant believers to

experience something that

Old Covenant people could never experience?”

“That in the New Covenant,

sacrifices would STOP being offered,

because worshippers would be cleansed ONCE FOR ALL, FOR ALL TIME and would

NO LONGER FEEL GUILTY FOR THEIR SINS.”

(See Hebrews 10: 1-2)

“The Lord’s Supper should be a time of

JOYFUL CELEBRATION and REMEMBRANCE

of MY shed blood –

MY FINAL and COMPLETE sacrifice that

TOOK AWAY the sin of the whole world.

Who dares to turn it into a time of

GUILT and CONDEMNATION?”

(End of what we imagine Jesus might think.)

So, we have now established that

“unconfessed sin”

is NOT the reason why the believers in Corinth were in danger of eating and drinking

judgment on themselves

as they shared the Lord’s Supper!

The reason that the Lord’s Supper EXISTS is that Jesus’ shed blood ushered in a

brand NEW COVENANT – a BETTER Covenant

under which

ALL our sins, past, present and future, have been

TAKEN AWAY by HIS BLOOD!

So, WHY were the Corinthians in danger of

eating and drinking judgment upon

themselves?

The answer is found in the last 2 verses of

1 Cor 11: 17 – 34.

(This is where Paul tells the Corinthians

what they must do

to avoid bringing judgment upon themselves.)

And HOW simple the solution is!!

TWO simple things they must do!!

1. EAT AT HOME before they come to meet.

2. WAIT FOR EACH OTHER when they have gathered.

If they do these two simple things, they will not bring judgment on themselves.

How come?

Because the reasons the Corinthians were eating the bread and drinking the cup of the Lord

in an unworthy manner is that they were not “recognizing the body of the Lord” nor

“honouring the body of Christ.”

They were not recognizing or honouring His body at 2 levels:

(REMEMBER! When THEY came together to celebrate the Lord’s Supper, they had a FULL MEAL!)

Here’s how they didn’t recognize or honour

the body of Christ at 2 levels:

1. They were so eager to “chow down” on the meal that they took no time to remember the Lord’s broken body and shed blood for them – they ignored the very purpose for which they had gathered – the very purpose of the Lord’s Supper.

2. They were so eager to “chow down” that they did not recognize that they, TOGETHER, were the Body of Christ on the earth. Instead of being patient and polite as the meal was being served, they grabbed lots and started gobbling before seeing if there was enough food for everyone, so some went hungry.

The Corinthians’ problem was NOT

“unconfessed sin” in their lives!

Their problem was that in their

GREED and SELFISHNESS, they were not recognizing or honoring

the body of Christ. (at 2 levels, as we have seen.)

THIS is what they were told to

“examine themselves” for: (1 Cor 11: 28-29):

What can WE learn from this?

When WE meet for The Lord’s Supper, WE TOO need to recognize and honour the body of Christ at these two levels:

1. The Lord’s Supper is not just a ritual – we must partake in JOYFUL remembrance of Jesus’ broken body

and shed blood that TOOK AWAY our sins.2. We must also recognize and honour EACH OTHER as vital parts of the body of Christ here on earth – fellow

believers remembering together what our Saviour did for us.

WE need to examine ourselves to ensure that we are recognizing these 2 things!

But NEVER AGAIN should we let someone

STEAL OUR JOY as we share the Lord’s Supper

by making us feel GUILTY about “unconfessed sin.”

The reason that the Lord’s Supper EXISTS is that Jesus’ shed blood ushered in a

brand NEW COVENANT – a BETTER Covenant

under which

ALL our sins, past, present and future, have been

TAKEN AWAY by HIS BLOOD!

Jesus did not give us the Lord’s Supper so that we can remember how SINFUL we are.

What Jesus wants us to remember is this:

(2 Cor 5: 19)

Jesus gave us the Lord’s Supper so that we can remember how FORGIVEN we are!

In Jesus, God has TAKEN AWAY ALL OUR SIN and

He has credited US with HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS –

Let us remember THIS as we partake

with GREAT JOY!

The blood that has taken away

ALL SIN

The blood from

“a SINGLE sacrifice for sin, good for all time.”

The blood that

Has forever reconciled us to God.