Grace: Amazing Or Accustomed?

Well, I was. I think we're done with the money thing for now. Anyway, I think we'll see I might summarize things and then figure out. I left something out, but I Wanted I I was thinking I mentioned in my emails that I was thinking as they even played amazing grace.

And I was thinking how appropriate is for this weekend. I've seen so many ads and how many ads have you seen. Where or you know little bits of commercial Television programs. Where by virtue of serving the country.

By virtue of dying in combat by virtue of some voluntary service. You're in heaven, and I was reading a book this week by Sinclair Ferguson. And it was about grace. And he makes a statement. He says you know is it is grace amazing or Is it accustomed is?

Grace amazing or is it a custom? What do you suppose? He means by a customed grace taken for granted expected Grace. It's boring and I came up with a third category, which I call presumed grace, which is you know what we so often see you know it's a salvation or grace by death.

Just by virtue of dying. But I have a series of questions this morning, and I'd like to work through those and I Heavily borrowed from Sinclair Ferguson, but I thought these were really really good questions.

The Astonishment of Grace and the Cross of Christ

How about this one? This is not a true or false question so when was the last time you've got a little awestruck. Thinking about the grace of God. I'll take a show of hands. No. No I'm just Listen what Sinclair Ferguson says he says being amazed by God's grace is a sign of spiritual vitality.

It is a litmus test of how firm and real is our grasp of the Christian gospel and How close is our walk with Jesus Christ? The growing Christian finds that the grace of God astonishes and amazes. Astonishes and amazes it kind of takes our breath away when we think about what we deserve and instead what we get.

If you wake up in the morning. And you just go and you right away you start making your list of all the things that you have to do today. And all the things that you don't want to do and all the things that are just gonna be obstacles to your enjoying the day.

May I suggest that there's another way to go about that. Before I even get out of bed, you should just be thinking I can't believe. What I can't believe. I woke up that well, you know. So I say that sometimes when I think I wish I could have slept a little longer.

But I can't believe that I'm in Christ Jesus. Knowing what I know about myself even when I wake up in the morning. I just think what I know about me. I would have not saved me that would not have been my choice.

What also would not have been my choice to have this in my pocket, but I had nowhere to put it. Let's look at Romans 8. And by the way, if anyone ever gets disturbed because I'm not turning through my Bible.

It's not because I have the entire Bible memorized and I can just go let's look at Romans 8 32 and 33 you people turn there. I'll just cite it from memory. I kept pace to put on my notes Romans 8 32 and 33 between really a couple very famous and Well known passages where we have, you know, the golden chain of salvation and before that Romans 8 28 God works all things together for good and Then you know who shall separate us from the love of God in Christ all those things.

And right in the middle we find this Little passage here Romans 8 32 and 33 and who would read that for me? Brian okay. Now. Are you reading from the ESV? Yeah, I knew that because The ESV in my not so humble opinion does really not such a great job of explaining it.

Because it says but gave him up. I like deliver him better because why do you think I like deliver better than gave him up? I mean to me deliver just kind of means it it it better illustrates what it what this word actually means.

Which is more it's almost like a transfer of custody. It it draws up a picture something like transferring an inmate from one jail to another. That's what the word essentially means. In fact one dictionary says that this way hand over turn over give up a person and it's used of police and courts to literally hand over into the custody of.

It's not like this was some kind of nice Move here nice in the sense of you know gonna move him from one beautiful apartment to another. The father did not transfer his. Far from it, you know, not his bad son from one jail to another he handed over his perfect son to the evil desires of wicked men.

Not because he wished Jesus ill. But because Jesus was the only means by which we could be saved. And if we know ourselves rightly if we think about ourselves rightly God gave his perfect flawless blameless son.

Delivered him over to it. We would see that in Acts 2 and Acts 4 he delivered him over to wicked men who then hung him up on a tree and. Again, if we think rightly about what we deserve, we certainly did not deserve the Son of God.

The second person the Trinity to die for our sins. So when you get up in the morning I I would suggest that maybe the first thing we ought to think about is the cross of Christ the greatness of what? We have been purchased with.

Grace Is the Lord Jesus Christ, Not a Substance

Second question and this is a true or false question. Grace is a substance distributed by God. Grace is a substance distributed by God. Go ahead true or false. It's false. Listen what Sinclair Ferguson says he says grace is not a thing.

It is not a substance that can be measured or a commodity that can be distributed in Essence. Listen, it is Jesus himself Jesus himself. He is the embodiment of grace. Let's look at 2nd Corinthians chapter 13 verse 14 a familiar Benediction and I want to just kind of break that break this down a little bit.

2nd Corinthians chapter 13 verse 14 the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all now again. This is a benediction from Paul if we just kind of dissect this for a minute or really trisect it if we look at the three parts of The Trinity that are discussed here if we talk about the love of God, what do we know about the love of the Father?

For us. That God from Romans 5 that God demonstrated his own love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us, right? We know that we know that We love God why? Because he loved us first.

We know that God is Love we know all these things. So this is this is what we might say is characteristic of the Father. It's not as only characteristic, but when we think of the Father We tend to think of the love of God.

Then look at what is said here of the Holy Spirit the fellowship. The koinonia the community of the Holy Spirit. How is it that we're able to all get along with one another? Mostly it's because we have the Holy Spirit that Works in us to kind of even things out.

It gives us that sense of fellowship and that love for one another and he says the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. If we were to Kind of think of a single word that would sort of summarize the work of Jesus Christ.

It would be grace why because it is the demerited Favor in other words what we could never earn for ourselves, but that we get through Christ Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, but it is not a substance Distributed by God.

Bondage to Sin Before Salvation

Okay question number three. On a scale of 1 to 10, how true is this statement? I thought I'd get away from the true false model. On a scale of 1 to 10. How true is this statement besides that it's more subjective this way.

Here's the statement before I was saved. I committed sin because I was in bondage to it. I Hear a 10. I hear an 11. Let's turn to John 8 verses 31 to 36. Somebody asked me what we're gonna be doing for Sunday school this week, and I said a book report.

That's only a slight Exaggeration. I really I really like it. It's good to be reminded of things that we know and to maybe approach them from a different perspective. And I think this is one that we just tend to almost take for granted sometimes John 8 verses 31 to 36 and who would read that place?

Okay, pretty. Okay. So now the Jews.

They hear this and they're offended. Why are they offended? Because they were sons of Abraham so they were basically claiming Freedom by lineage. I mean just just think if you go up to an American and say, you know what you're a slave.

We're not slaves we're Americans we fought for our freedom. We are inherently free. God has given us this freedom, etc, etc, etc. But if you say that you're a slave to sin That's a whole different matter people wouldn't really wouldn't even know how to respond to that but this is offensive to the Jews.

Because they think of themselves what as God's people these are God's children there as chosen people and they're like We're not in any kind of spiritual bondage. Sinclair Ferguson makes the observation that it is natural for Natural meaning unregenerate it is natural for people to think that they're what that they're not Slaves of sin that they can stop sinning anytime.

They really want to I mean an atheist Who actually believes in free will. I mean some don't but if they if they believe in free will. You think they'd like this idea that somehow that they're a slave to sin and the answer is gonna be of course not.

They wouldn't even acknowledge maybe that sin even exists. Listen what Sinclair Ferguson says he's talking about from the vantage point of an unsaved person. Before Christ he says in short. My problem is not the isolated actions that I see as Aberrations from what I really am in other words momentary little sidesteps on my life's path.

I'm deceiving myself when I think that way these actions these sins are not aberrations, but revelations of what is in my heart. Right. It's what? What you know what we do is Fruit of what's in our hearts is what he's saying.

And Ferguson notes these Impacts of the sin nature. I mean think about this. Well, let me just ask you how does sin Impact the unsaved person in other words. What part of their lives does it infect? What part of their being does it infect.

All of it, but I mean, let's be a little more specific. Their what? Well their soul. Yes their minds right their thinking their thinking is warped. Their thinking is off. Ferguson knows that intelligence is no guarantee that we think clearly about spiritual things.

We'll discuss that more later. It also infects or affects our desires the unsaved man's desires. Ferguson notes we have a moral consciousness that says you must get these things under control in other words recognizing that the things that we're doing Are kind of spiraling out of control much like a cell phone.

They're spiraling out of control. So we say to ourselves, you know what we have to get our lives, right? We have to straighten things out. But who's in charge? Who's in charge there? We're just like, you know what someday I'm gonna clean up this mess.

But there's really nobody in there to clean. There's no janitor there to clean it up Ferguson says but inwardly we are out of control. There's a world within us over which we have no mastery. So our minds our desires and finally our wills.

Our will before salvation is in bondage to sin even when we heard the gospel we thought something like I love this. Here heard the gospel Heard the truth that we were sinners that needed to be saved from the wrath of God and thoughts.

Something along these lines that is my decision and I can make it whenever I want. I'll get right with God at some point I'll believe and I'll get saved on my deathbed. I'll have Jesus on my time schedule.

Thank you very much Ferguson says this and you have to listen to this carefully now. He says we cannot say to our will will. Will to belong to the Lord it is beyond our powers to do that. No one can will the will to will what it will not will.

You can't make yourself do something that is against your nature. You cannot do it. Now you say well that's not necessarily true. I can give you an illustration where it's not true. How many of you have a fear of heights?

Let me just share a little embarrassing story here. I Was in the army. We had to climb this rope ladder and up at the top. I think it's like maybe three stories or so 30 feet. Now my son-in-law Jerry had to climb a hundred foot ladder this week and I'm going.

I I can't even that was last week. Can't even you know picture that. I'd be like, oh, that's okay you guys first go go right up. So I climb this 30 foot rope ladder and I get to the top and I'm like, hey, that wasn't so bad.

Well, there's one little catch. You have to get down. Which would be fine except here you are on this platform and Here's the rope ladder. Well, there's no handles or anything. You just have to get just start down.

I'm going this is not gonna work. One little false step and I'm going, you know straight to my death as far as I'm concerned. So I didn't do it. Couldn't do it. It was against my will it was against my nature.

I couldn't do it a few days later. They took us all out there. We had to do it again except for this this time was a little different it was just me and the girls. What do you think happened that time?

Yeah, that's right. I fell to my death. Oh, no, that's. So, you know in one sense we can overcome our will but an unsaved person cannot will themselves to believe. They cannot make themselves believe the gospel they cannot understand the Bible.

Even if we look at 1st Corinthians chapter 2 we would understand that. That they just they can't get it apart from the enabling of the Spirit. So they've got a problem in that sense on a scale of 1 to 10.

They were absolutely in bondage to their sin they had no freedom of the will as it said. We could look at Romans 6 where we're slaves to sin or were slaves to Christ. You you know. The great theologian Bob Dylan had it right you're going to serve somebody.

Sin Is Not Learned but Inborn

The only question is who there are no free agents. Question number four true or false. Sin is something we learn to do. That's false. I More yeah how to sin better but no, we we. We we know how to sin.

Let's turn to Psalm 51 for a moment. Psalm 51 and this is written. David is writing really out of grief and despair. Just out of penitence. He has Been visited by Nathan who presents to him a little parable and says, you know here's this rich guy who has everything and here's this poor guy who has nothing and Rich guy receives a visitor and it's customary to prepare something for the visitor.

Well, the rich guy's greedy. He's want to give up anything that he has so he goes and he takes from the poor man. Takes the only thing that he has and he offers that to the visitor. Sacrifices in gives it to the visitor.

And what is David's response to that? Well, that's okay. Anybody would do that. That's just the natural order of things. You know, it's Darwin dog eat dog big fish eats the little fish. David is outraged says who is this guy?

This is my own translation, by the way. He says who is this guy. Tell me who he is cuz I'm gonna I'm gonna basically rip him limb from limb. This is outrageous and Nathan says what? You are the man this whole thing with Uriah Bathsheba.

You see her you want her you take her. Uriah your faithful soldier is out there on the front and you go. I'm just gonna do what I want. What you ride is no won't hurt him. Then She gets pregnant got a little problem.

Well, we'll fix that. We'll send you right up to the front get him killed and Nathan comes up to him and says you are the man. He's caught. Psalm 51 5. He says I learned how to do that. No says behold.

I Was brought forth in iniquity and in my sin did my mother or Annie and sin did my mother conceive me? Not her sin, but sin nature was passed on to David and David recognized in light of his sinfulness in his thorough sinfulness that he was a sinner by nature and by by By birth and also by desire, but listen what he says in verse 7 purge me with hyssop.

And I shall be clean and wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. This was Sinclair Ferguson says about that he says David's language is an appeal for a vigorous and rigorous cleansing. His sin was deep-dyed it's in His DNA and he knows it.

He's going this is beyond me. I can't do this on my own. So he appeals to God he knows that there are layers of deceptiveness sin and Bondage in his heart and only God could cleanse and free him now. Let's go back to John 8.

Jesus is having this Interaction with the Jewish leadership the Pharisees the scribes and those who wanted to bring him down the Jewish leaders this knowledge of a need for cleansing was exactly What they didn't understand.

They're like what do we need that for we're children of Abraham we don't have this kind of bad nature. We're not sinners. We're good people. Would somebody read? Verses 42 to 47, please 42 to 47.

Yeah, go ahead. Well, yes, well that was certainly seeker sensitive.

They were not able to hear what he was saying. And he said what that you're of the your father the Devil here. They are saying our father is Abraham. We're inherently good. We're God's chosen people. Jesus says to him well.

Not only are you not good? But your father is the devil. He was a murderer from the beginning. He was a liar. And guess what? You guys are just like him. I'll see you next week Church. All right. Question number five.

We'll develop this a little bit more here in a second. Are you offended again just thinking about grace what has been granted to us? Are you offended at the idea that you were before you were saved a miserable sinner?

There are people like that people who would say that they're Christians. Well, I was bad, but I wouldn't say I was a miserable sinner. St. Clair Ferguson notes that there was a Many years ago. There was a British Presbyterian magazine that was published tens of thousands of copies went out and then there was a sudden scramble to get all the copies back and there was a reason for that and it's because in the magazine.

It referred to a member of the royal family as quote a miserable sinner. Me can you imagine what if they said that you know about Diana? She was a miserable sinner. I mean that they'd have to shut that magazine down and probably assign lifeguard or bodyguards to everybody, you know.

But he says that the denomination did not want to give they they pulled these back in because the denomination Was appalled that this magazine went out and listen what they said. They said they did not want to give the impression that the doctrines of the Christian faith caused people emotional trauma.

When you approach people and you say are you a sinner sometimes they'll say yes. I think if you probably went up to somebody and you said are you a miserable sinner? I don't think you'd get many people to say.

Yep. That's me. I'm the worst of the worst. I deserve hell. Probably not but listen again as Jesus addresses This group here in John 8 verse 37 because Jesus had no compunction about telling them the way it was.

I know that you are offspring of Abraham yet. You seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. It finds no place in you. The words of my mouth go out and yet they don't get into you. Why. Because you have basically Kevlar you have spiritual Kevlar all around you that prevents the Word of God from?

Seeping in your bulletproof. Again in John 8 43, which we read here a few minutes ago Jesus knew that it wasn't a personal hatred. It wasn't just a personal hatred, but a spiritual inability. He said why do you not understand what I say?

It is because you cannot bear to hear my word now the ESV as I was indicating earlier does not do a good job here. And it's not simply because they cannot hear or understand his word, you know. Look again what it says why do you not understand?

It's because you cannot bear to hear my word. It's like Oh, it's too much for us to bear that's. Here's what it actually says. It says that they do not have the ability to hear. The NAS does it right?

It says why do you not understand what I'm saying? It is because you cannot hear my word. You don't have the spiritual ability. You don't have spiritual ears. Ears are clogged. You've got the wax of sin as it were.

Just clogging up ears. You can't hear it. If you are offended by the idea that you are a miserable sinner. Saved by the grace of God apart from anything you deserved or even desired. You might not be saved.

When John Newton wrote amazing grace He had a horrible background and he understood that only the grace of God could make him white as snow. That only the grace of God could make him right before God.

Grace is amazing. Question number six. Did you set yourself free from your spiritual bondage? I broke the bonds of death and sin like some kind of superhero. John 8 verses 35 and 36. We read this earlier.

I'll read it again. The slave does not remain in the house forever. The Sun remains forever. So if the Sun sets you free you will be free indeed. We tend to think of Slavery as a permanent institution.

Well, it wasn't that way in the New Testament. Kind of it was. I wouldn't say it was exactly like being employed, but it was more like being employed than how slavery was in the United States where somebody actually owned you forever and ever there were different rules and Different understandings of that.

But look what he says. He says the slave does not remain in the house for what does that mean? It means because eventually he's gonna move on but the Sun remains forever. The son of a homeowner is going to remain that man's son forever and It's an analogy if you are gods if you belong to God you remain with him forever and look at verse 36.

He says if the Sun sets you free. Then what you will be free indeed permanently free. Whom Christ sets free? I mean there there again you go. Here's a here's an argument against Possibility of losing your salvation.

Jesus says if the Sun sets you free, which obviously you did not do for yourself. Then you are free. Indeed, how do you how does Jesus set you free from your sin and then you go? I'm gonna retie myself and there's nothing you can do about it.

Jesus also in John chapter 8. Really? This is why Jesus came if we look at back at verse 29 Jesus said this and he who sent me the father is with me. He has not left me alone. Listen for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.

What did Jesus say over and over again that he came not to do his own will but the will of him who sent me? He came to please the father and Setting them free. It was one of the things that are setting sinners.

Captives free is one of the things that pleases the father. Number seven. Sure, false. The gospel is easily understood. Yes, I Would say that is a yes true. The gospel is easily understood. Yes, it's not complex.

But is it easily understood. No because Not everyone can understand it. If they could understand it then they would believe listen what Sinclair Ferguson says he says I Have met some exceptionally intelligent people who cannot understand the Christian gospel.

They hear its message as if it were a lecture on morality. And I want to focus on that for just a minute because when you go into a church and you hear Eight ways to be a better neighbor ten ways to be a better husband.

Twelve ways to better parenting. Six you know ways to financial freedom whatever it is that you know, the current series is. What are they really telling you do better? Since up your belt Christianity is about you're here.

You need to get up here solo brute bootstraps. Uh, make it so. Cinch up your belt and I'm telling you this morning that if that's your idea of the gospel that you might as well be at the Mormon Church.

It's not about being better. And we we tend to confuse that why because we don't like the presence of sin in our lives and that is right. And that is good. But just as we don't like the presence of sin in our lives what else we did not like we don't like the presence of worry, we don't like the presence of Sickness or illness or sorrow or all those things?

They're all gonna go away. But they're not gonna go away till we die. The gospel is not about being better. It's true that in light of what Christ Jesus did for us. We ought to live in accordance with that.

That's all true. But we should never confuse the Indicative, you know, which is who we are in Christ with the their force. In other words It's not who we are or what we ought to do in light of who we are that we tend to put things backwards we tend to move those things back and You know suddenly Christianity is about Six ways to financial freedom.

Ten ways to be a better neighbor four ways to be a better witness to your. You know your friends at work, whatever it is. And that's not the way it is. It's not morality. It's not about becoming a better person an Atheist can think I'm gonna become a better person.

That's not it. Ferguson goes on to say the problem lies within us in our spiritual blindness if there is resistance in the heart to loving God. There will be resistance in the mind to knowing God and Therefore to listening and seeking God only the truth can set us free.

Why is it that people don't know God. Why is it that they suppress the truth in unrighteousness? They look all around the world and they say wow, aren't we lucky? Are we lucky that the earth is tilted on?

That's in such a an axis and that it rotates in such in such a way and that you know. If things change a little bit we go flying into space. Aren't we lucky? Aren't we lucky that some little one-cell animal billions and trillions or however many years ago?

They think it was you know. Subdivided and eventually became mankind and aren't we lucky that we don't see weird things happening with people now where they're suddenly growing, you know 15 arms or whatever it is.

Lucky lucky lucky. The truth is that they hate God they suppress the truth about him. They don't want to know God and therefore they don't. They don't care to know anything about him and what separates you hear this over and over again here and up.

But I don't think we can stress this enough what stresses or what? Separates a believer from an unbeliever Hope. Yes, but that's what we possess now, but what made us? Believe the grace of God. The quicken ill Holy Spirit.

I mean how many times did we hear the gospel? Did somebody present the gospel to us. Did they give us a track and we just said oh, thank you very much. Right in the trash, you know. Little round-the-back action.

I mean, I think even my own Childhood really, I mean we would go to Mormon night at Disneyland which was from 8 p .m to 1 a .m. For those who are wondering and as we were driving out, you know, the Calvary Chapel people would be out there handing out tracts and telling us that we were heading for hell and we're like.

What are you guys talking about? Made no sense to us. And Finally in the providence of grace of God, our eyes are open. Our ears are unstopped. We hear the truth and we go. And in that moment I can promise you if you were saved today in that moment where you recognize the truth about Jesus Christ.

You didn't think grace. I've got homework do I've got that big project at work. My house is a mess. The kids are screaming. What am I gonna make for dinner? You weren't thinking any of those things you were thinking exactly what you should have been thinking which is I deserve hell in light of who I am and what I've done and In spite of that the father sent the son To live a perfect life in my place.

To die a substitutionary death in my place and he raised him on the third day. That by believing in him I might have eternal life. That's what you're thinking and in that moment there certainly is freedom.

I True or false and you don't answer this but true or false just think about it this way at the moment when you recognize That you had been forgiven of all your sins forever. Did you feel a little weightless.

Wasn't there that recognition that it's just like I I can't believe that The bonds have been broken. I'm not no longer going to be held Under judgment for what I've done. I'm not going to be condemned.

The Spirit's Work in Conversion and the Father's Love

Question number eight and this is an interesting one. I think. Of course, I think it's interesting. He says or this is my question. Is there a difference between addressing God as Father and addressing him as God.

And you say well, how does this relate to grace. We'll get there in a second. Listen what he says he says a religious person is likely to address God especially in a crisis as Oh God. Not as Oh Father.

Oh God if you'll just get me out of this right. It's not with it with the appeal of a child to a father saying father. I know That you are in charge. I know that whatever happens here as much as I don't like where this is going.

I know that you have my best interest in mind a Religious person an unbeliever who might fancy themselves Religious says Oh God because they don't know him. They just know he exists. Ferguson goes on he says there's a simple reason for this unless you know God as your father you never cry out to him in your need as Abba Father Memorial Day been thinking about a lot about these different things and I was thinking about Louie Zamparini and While he was adrift at sea, I think it was Six weeks they were at sea in this little thing.

They lived longer than anybody had up to that point and it really is an amazing story. And at one point he basically makes a deal with God God if you'll get me out of this. You know blah blah blah blah and then you know, he goes through years of harrowing suffering and all this heartache and hardship and he gets out and He gets married and really he's pretty Horrible husband Drunkard just involved in all kinds of difficulty and It was the I think the second time that he went to a Billy Graham Crusade his wife dragged him out and he was leaving in anger again because he's listening to this message now I think it's pretty amazing.

You get mad at listening to Billy Graham, but okay he gets mad at Billy Graham and he's stalking out and all of a sudden I Think the Lord brings back to his mind being in that Raft being stuck there and how he said Oh God if you'll get me out of this.

And he stopped and he listened and he believed and his life changed. Well, why was that it was because he came to an intellectual point where he said, you know What this is just futile. My life is getting worse and worse and worse and if I would only just surrender my life to a higher power.

It's because the Holy Spirit convicted him. All the times that he heard and suppressed and even responded in anger all went away. Listen Jesus came to show us the Father. We read that In John 8, but even the original audience did not always believe, you know, this is the last point here.

You know if you say if you'll show me Jesus or if you'll show me God then I'll believe no you won't. Because Jesus walked on the face of the earth and ministered for more than three years and many people did not believe most people did Not believe listen, John 8 verses 53 to 55.

Are you greater? This is the Jews here. They say are you greater than our father Abraham who died and the prophets died? Who do you make yourself out to be? Jesus answered if I glorify myself. My glory is nothing.

It is my father who glorifies me of whom you say he is our God. You say you worship this God. Well, he's the one who sent me and he glorifies me Verse 55, but you have not known him. I know him if I were to say that I do not know him I would be a liar like you.

But I do know him and I keep his word again, that's soft gentle nudge. Right to their face if I were to say I do not know him. I would be a liar like you. How are people drawn to God? By being confronted about their sinfulness by understanding their need and once we've been saved what we ought to think on a daily basis and I would say more than a daily basis is we ought to Think what a great God we have and what a gracious and loving God we have.

I Don't think we spend enough time. I mean we could certainly spend enough time thinking about ourselves and our problems and all the issues of life and all the trauma that We suffer through as children.