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2 Corinthians 5:14 For Christ's love compels
us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15
And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves
but for him who died for them and was raised again. 16 So from now
on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded
Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is
in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us
the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the
world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has
committed to us the message of reconciliation.
Today we are here
to talk about Grace. Last week we talked about prevenient grace, the grace of
God that is with us from the moment we are conceived until the moment we pass
from this earth. God loves us so much that God wants us in relationship with
God and one another. Today we are going to talk about the second place we
encounter Grace in our lives, the moment we are justified in our faith. First,
we must review the concept of Grace.
There is
one Grace, the Grace of God. In order to fully appreciate that concept, we must
first understand our own humanity and the human need for divine grace. Reverend
Doctor Daniel Garrett says it this way, “Human
beings are sinful and without God incapable on their own of being righteous,
however they are not irredeemably sinful and can be transformed by God’s grace.”[i] As Christians, we believe
that we are born into a sinful nature where we desire to exert our will over
the will of God. We spend our life fighting this nature where we each fight for
control of our lives rather than relinquishing that control to God and seeking
discernment for our lives through the Holy Spirit. In that inescapable nature,
our doom is assured except for the intervention of God. Humanity cannot bridge
the sinful gap between our own humanity and God. Because of that, it was
necessary for divine intervention in the death of Jesus.
John
Wesley summed up our depraved nature in his sermon on the New Birth said:
“And in Adam
all died, all humankind, all the children of men who were then in Adam's loins.
The natural consequence of this is, that every one descended from him comes
into the world spiritually dead, dead to God, wholly dead in sin; entirely void
of the life of God; void of the image of God, of all that righteousness and
holiness wherein Adam was created. Instead of this, every man born into the
world now bears the image of the devil in pride and self-will; the image of the
beast, in sensual appetites and desires. This, then, is the foundation of the
new birth, -- the entire corruption of our nature. Hence it is, that, being
born in sin, we must be "born again." Hence every one that is born of
a woman must be born of the Spirit of God.”[ii]
Without
divine intervention we would be incapable of redemption and so God provides the
means through Jesus, his life, death and resurrection.
This now brings
us to the concept of Grace. Our Book of Discipline says this about grace, “While the grace of God is undivided, it
precedes salvation as ‘prevenient grace,’ continues in ‘justifying grace,’ and
is brought to fruition in ‘sanctifying grace.’”[iii] Our lives are a journey
from birth to death and then resurrection that allows us to share in the grace
of God given to us through the cross and resurrection of Jesus. We are all in
need of repentance, our own desire to seek forgiveness for our sinful nature, whether
before our new birth or after. We seek to restore ourselves to God’s favor
through our prayers for forgiveness, our participation in Holy Communion and
our witness in the community of believers. This act of repentance is played out
in the world daily individually and in communion with others. Prevenient grace
is with us from conception to our grave. God’s love flows through us even
before we know God. It is God striving to bring us into relationship. Some
refer to this point in the journey as that time in our lives when we have a
yearning for something greater or deeper even if we do not fully know what that
yearning is.
Justification
is the act of forgiveness given to us by God for our sinful nature and our sins
against God throughout our lives. It is a place in the journey of grace of God
according to John Wesley, given through the cross and resurrection. Again from
our Book of Discipline, “In justification
we are, through faith, forgiven our sin and restored to God’s favor.”[iv]
When
Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about “being born again” he was referring to the
regeneration of our spirit, that moment when we are renewed inwardly in the
image of Christ. It is this moment that John Wesley speaks of as the moment of
our “new birth’ when we are reconciled to God. After this moment, which may
come through a journey of faith development with the Holy Spirit or a spiritual
awakening from the Holy Spirit, we strive to achieve perfection in our lives.
For many, this is the time when we would profess our faith publicly or
privately.
Justification
is being reckoned righteous. It is pardon where we are restored to the right
relationship through the atonement of Jesus’ death. It happens when we
acknowledge our need to be in relationship with God. Regeneration or “New
Birth” is that moment when we receive the power of the Holy Spirit and we are
“Born from above” as Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about. Whether justification and
regeneration happen instantly together or as Wesley believed, justification
logically preceded regeneration; we take the next step on a journey towards
perfection in Christ. Runyon in his book, The New Creation says, “Justification begins the process of
restoring the image of God in us, for our lives are realigned for a purpose:
not only to receive from God but to share what we have received with others.”[v] When we are justified and
regenerated through our faith, we receive God’s forgiveness and “…we are made new creatures in Christ.”[vi]
As we continue the journey in faith, God’s grace continues to transform us
in this new creation.
God understands that we need the love of God that
is both divine and human so God sent us Jesus. Jesus walked among us to teach
us how that love looks lived out, how we can love in that way and how we can
share that love with one another. Jesus then went to the cross so that we may
have the opportunity to share in eternity in that love. Jesus the ultimate
atonement for the inherent nature, which keeps us, separated from God. Now we
are free to share our love with God and one another and when we decide, when we
give our hearts to God through Jesus, at that moment we begin a transformation
that is both mysterious and glorious. When begin to become the very creation
that God intended from the beginning. It is only another step in the journey
which we share all our lives.
Billy Graham recounts a time when he was driving
through a small southern town. He was stopped by a police officer and charged
with speeding. Graham admitted his quilt, but was told by the officer that he
would have to appear in court. The judge asked, "Guilty, or not
guilty?" When Graham pleaded guilty, the judge replied, "That’ll be
ten dollars -- a dollar for every mile you went over the limit." Suddenly the judge recognized the famous minister.
"You have violated the law," he said. "The fine must be
paid--but I am going to pay it for you." He took a ten-dollar bill from
his own wallet, attached it to the ticket, and then took Graham out and bought
him a steak dinner! "That," said Billy Graham, "is how God
treats repentant sinners!" That
is what grace is all about. Grace is sufficient! Are you ready?
[i] Garrett, Daniel Rev. Dr., Class notes
from PT752 – United Methodist Doctrine, Polity, and History, School of
Theology, Virginia Union University, Winter 2005 and Spring 2006
[ii] Outler, Albert and Richard
Heitzenrater, Editors, John Wesley’s Sermons, An Anthology, Abingdon
Press, TN 1991, page 338
[iii] Smith, Judith E., ed., The Book of Discipline of the
United Methodist Church 2008, (Nashville: The United Methodist Publishing
House, 2008), page 45-46
[iv] Smith, page 46
[v] Runyon, The New Creation, 1998,
page 42
[vi] Smith, 2008, page 46
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