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

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 VICTORY
over 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:

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 JESUS
The 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?

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?

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 VICTORY
over 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.

TGP How Grace affects Lives July 3 2016

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