Grace Part II: Who Needs a Savior Anyway?

Justification (as Google defines it):

1.the action of showing something to be right or reasonable.

good reason for something that exists or has been done.plural noun: justifications "there is no justification for an increase in charges" synonyms: grounds, reason, basis, rationale, premise, rationalization,vindication,explanation; More defense, argument, apologia, apology, case "there's no justification for their rudeness"

2.Theology the action of declaring or making righteous in the sight of God.

Isn't it odd that justification is both the one thing that keeps us from a meaningful relationship with God AND the one thing that makes us right with God?

We've all had conversations with someone or even ourselves where we rationalize or justify an action, comment, thought, attitude, or habit that we know is not right. We have talked ourselves into believing that our sin is justified. Could it be possible we may even know someone who truly believes he or she has never sinned? With the ways of the world so focused on satisfying self and immediate gratification, it is not surprising that one could think this way.

Romans 3:10 NLT states,“No one is righteous—not even one. So, how do we open the door to this conversation without it turning into an awkward condemnation? How do we help them and ourselves to see that we are all in need of a savior over and over again?

First, name the problem by sharing personal stories of your own struggles with sin and what you are doing about it. Help them to see that even followers of Jesus fall victim to sin and continually need a Savior. Sin is not just the bad things we do, but it is an inherent part of who we are. We should paint the picture that any person in the middle of difficult circumstances, when left to his or her own devices, is likely to sin. We can't help it. But, we as Christians know better and have tools and options to assist us when we find ourselves in the midst of those circumstances. We can use things such as prayer, other Christians, and more, but sometimes we choose not to use them and instead choose to take the path of least resistance - sin. By our own admittance of personal sin, we put a face and a reality to sin which allows those who don't know Jesus recognize it.

Jeremiah 17:9 MSG says, “The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out."

Second, name the solution by sharing how we are made right in God's sight as we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. Jesus justified us to God. Emphasize that we are all saved in the same way no matter who we are or what we have done. Romans 3:21-24 MSG tells us that God has set things right. It says, "But in our time something new has been added. What Moses and the prophets witnessed to all those years has happened. The God-setting-things-right that we read about has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us. And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in him. For there is no difference between us and them in this. Since we’ve compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ." It is by grace that we are made clean.

Finally, share how to accept God's offer for justification through Jesus Christ. Acts 3:19 NLV says, "Now turn from your sins and turn to God, so you can be cleansed of your sins." To know Jesus Christ personally and to have our sins forgiven, we must first admit that we are sinners who are separated from God. We must believe that we cannot save ourselves and there is no rationalizing our sin. Our only hope is in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came to earth to die for our sins. But, we cannot stop there. We also need to confess our sins and turn away from them. We must ask Jesus to be our Lord and Savior. He will then help us to change, over time, from the inside out.

For some, maybe even many, having the courage to share these three points will be a scary endeavor. Push yourself to follow up with a note or an email to ask if he or she wants to hear more. We may even have the opportunity to pray with our friend. Listen to God's leading and be sensitive to their body language keeping in mind that some people will need more time than others to see the truth.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for being a forgiving God. Thank you for loving us enough to send your Son to die for our sins. Thank you for this gift, the grace, You show in the person of Jesus. Help us to seek you every day at every turn instead of "trying" to lean on our own thinking. We recognize that our nature is to take the easy way out and let our emotions run our decision making. We know in our hearts and minds that Jesus is the only way to righteousness. Give us the courage to share the truth with our friends who don't know you in a way that it will be received. It is in the strong name of Jesus our Lord and Savior, we pray...Amen.

Grace Part I: Witnessing to Spock or Sheldon

Do you know a co-worker or family member who has a hard time accepting the good news of salvation by faith? Have you tried to subtly share your story only to find yourself seemingly speaking a foreign language? Our hearts ache when those who we care about and work with struggle to find peace. They ache even more so when they question us as we try to help them find the answers they seek. Many of our logical friends who share qualities with the character Spock from "Star Trek" or are similar to Sheldon of the "Big Bang Theory", have "tried" to make sense of religion, only to become more frustrated and more confident that religion is all a hoax. It's only purpose to keep society in line and to help those who need it to feel good about themselves. Some have even called the bible a nice little story. Interestingly enough, they still know that something is missing. What is it that is being missed in how we share the good news? How can the powerful,living Word of God be silent to some, yet it is a comfort and guide for others? We can continue to question, but the real message we have to convince them of is that "it" is about a relationship and not about religion. It is about a friendship with a person unseen.



Even Jesus himself faced this same challenge as he spoke to Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader, in John 3:10-12 MSG, Jesus said, “You’re a respected teacher of Israel and you don’t know these basics? Listen carefully. I’m speaking sober truth to you. I speak only of what I know by experience; I give witness only to what I have seen with my own eyes. There is nothing secondhand here, no hearsay. Yet instead of facing the evidence and accepting it, you procrastinate with questions. If I tell you things that are plain as the hand before your face and you don’t believe me, what use is there in telling you of things you can’t see, the things of God?"

So how do we simplify and bring to life the amazing relationship available to others through Jesus Christ? One of the keys to helping our logical friends make sense of it all lies in getting them to first believe that they, alone, cannot satisfy the feeling of need or the longing for something more, indefinitely. Self-sufficiency will do them no good in this arena. They must comprehend the concept of grace. Our practical friends want to know how to apply our words in their lives. It needs to make sense to them. Many of them are used to having achieved success by following a series of steps, being dedicated, and working very hard. Grace is a foreign concept for them.

Google defines grace, in Christian belief, as the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings. What does this mean? How can we translate this into everyday words for our friends and relate it to something they can understand right now?

First, they have to know that there is nothing they can do to "get" grace. It is simply God’s favor that is unearned, undeserved and not repayable. They need to stop trying, stop the madness of working hard to earn it; and just stop. Ephesians 2:7-10 MSG, states, "Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing." God's grace is a special gift. The fact that we can do nothing of our own effort to earn grace or lose grace is a source of comfort and hope. It is a gift that God gave us through His son, Jesus.

Second, they have to understand that every strategy they have ever used before to complete something well, frankly, will not work for filling this particular void. Practical people can be hard-headed, creatures of habit. Taking this leap of faith by accepting God's grace is unnatural, scary, and feels totally out of control. It's like jumping out of an airplane and enjoying the freefall portion of the jump. Titus 3:4-7 CEV says, "God our Savior showed us how good and kind he is. He saved us because of his mercy, and not because of any good things that we have done. God washed us by the power of the Holy Spirit. He gave us new birth and a fresh beginning. God sent Jesus Christ our Savior to give us his Spirit. Jesus treated us much better than we deserve. He made us acceptable to God and gave us the hope of eternal life."

Third, they must know that the rules of religion are man's and not God's. Many who were not raised in the church do not have a true understanding of the purpose of the Old Testament laws. Their purpose was to show us how totally incapable we are, as humans, to keep them. They were supposed to point us to the person of Jesus Christ as our Savior. Unfortunately many of today's churches still perpetuate this thinking by placing emphasis on rules and guidelines or do's and don'ts. Instead of planting seeds and harvesting them for the Kingdom, they drive people away by making themselves and others look like hypocrites. No one can perfectly keep the laws of the Old Testament except Jesus, himself. So, incredulously, even many churches and congregations miss the point and therefore miss the mark! Romans 3:20-24 NLT tells us that Christ took our punishment. It says, "For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins."

Finally, God does not expect perfection. In fact, he expects us to fall short. Often, we have trouble accepting this because we operate under a system of conditions in most of our interactions with others, i.e. if he does this...I will do this....If she does that....I will not do this.  God expects that we admit our shortcomings and attempt to do something about it by asking for forgiveness and legitimately striving to not make the same mistake again. But, once forgiveness is accepted the slate is wiped clean in His eyes. Psalm 32:5 says, Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. He already knows the sins of our past and future. There is nothing we can do that will surprise God. Yet, he still loves and accepts us with all our imperfections. There is no sin so great that we cannot come back to God.

Dear Almighty Father,

The four points above are crosswise with our current world culture and are hard for us to accept as reality. Help us to take the leap of faith by accepting your grace and go one step further by putting grace into words for all to understand. Help us take the "religion" out of it for those we work with and put the focus on the real relationship with your Son, Jesus Christ. It is in the Holy Name of Jesus, we pray...Amen.