By Pastor Greg
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One night in a church service a young
woman felt the tug of God at her heart.
She responded to God’s call and accepted Jesus as her Lord and
Savior. Even though she had a very rough
past involving alcohol, drugs, and prostitution, the change in her was
evident. As time went on she became a
faithful member of the church, eventually teaching young children. It was not very long until this faithful
young woman had caught the eye and heart of the pastor’s son. The relationship grew and they began to make
wedding plans. This is when the problems
began. You see, some in the church
didn’t think a woman with a past such as hers was suitable for a pastor’s son,
so the church began to argue and fight about the matter. To decide what was right, the church
scheduled a meeting. During that meeting
people argued from both sides of the issue, and tempers began to rise. The meeting was getting completely out of
hand. Of course, the young woman became
very upset about all the things being brought up about her past. As she began to cry, the pastor’s son stood
to speak. He stated, “Today you have put
the blood of Jesus on trial. I ask you,
does it wash away sin or not?”
This illustration asks a very weighty
question. And it’s not a question about
forgiveness; rather it is a question about Grace. How much of a person’s past sin does God
still hold against them? Forgiveness and
Grace are two church words that get tossed around quite often in religious
circles, especially when you hang around a bunch of Christians. And honestly, they are two words at the
center of our faith. Yet do we
understand them? Forgiveness is
releasing someone from their wrong. You
and I might have a disagreement and say things that are hurtful. Later on we both apologize for our behavior
and offer forgiveness. But Grace takes
forgiveness one step further. Grace
removes the penalty for our actions. We
may commit a crime, like steal our neighbor’s car. When caught and convicted, we feel remorse
for what we have done. Oh, we may
apologize to our neighbor, and our neighbor might forgive us, but the penalty
still remains. Grace removes the
penalty. And in Christianity, Christ
takes the penalty of sin from us. That
is biblical Grace.
This is the promise of
Grace. God offers us forgiveness for our
sin, but He also gives Grace. The
penalty for that sin is no longer held against us. The punishment we expect we do not receive; a
promise Jesus illustrated so beautifully in the story of the Prodigal Son (read
Luke 15:11-32).
In this story, the young son comes to
his senses and returns to the father (That’s repentance). Expecting one thing, he receives just the
opposite (That’s Grace). The father did not
hold the son’s past against him. Instead
the father celebrated the life that that had been restored. What was lost has been found. What was dead is now alive.
In the Kingdom of God, this is what
happens to all who turn to Christ in faith.
All who come to their senses, confess their sin, and repent of their
sin, will find Grace. They will receive
not what they had earned through their sin or by their disobedience, but what
God chooses to do by His Grace. We
cannot disregard Grace. Grace cannot be
ignored. Grace demands to be
noticed. It jumps from the Word of God
and smacks us square between the eyes.
The Word of God takes Grace and forces us to choose; either Grace works,
or it doesn’t. There is no middle
ground. Either a sinner is granted Grace
when they confess their sin, or they are not.
And here, in this story, Jesus reminds us that the Father chooses
grace. However, this story of the
Prodigal Son was not spoken to those needing grace but to those who complained
about grace. The story of the Prodigal
Son is written as a rebuke to the Elder Son.
It’s important we realize why
Jesus told this story in the first place.
Jesus was talking to a couple of religious big shots. They didn’t seem to understand Grace or their
role in being instruments of Grace. Teachers
and religious leaders were complaining that Jesus was associating with sinners. So Jesus reminds these men that since the
Father has chosen Grace, so too must they.
As I look at this story it seems
to me that the Elder Son didn’t seem upset that his brother has left. He did not share the Father’s remorse. If he did, I suspect he would have been out
searching for his brother. He would have
been sharing the Good News that Dad wants the younger son to come home. If he really cared for his brother, the Elder
Son would have assured him that Dad is not angry, but sad. He could have brought a message of peace, not
condemnation. But, of course, the Elder
Brother does none of these things.
Instead he reminds Dad of all the bad things his brother HAD done; as if
grace did not and would not work.
Most of the un-churched people
I’ve talked with remind me of the younger son in this parable; feeding pigs and
wondering how they ended up broke and starving.
Like the Prodigal, they know their life is a wreck, and they dream of
finding their way to God. Like the
Prodigal they expect judgment and condemnation if they were to draw near to
God. Like the Prodigal, many un-churched
people expect punishment. They come
expecting anger for the way they have destroyed their life. This is what the un-churched seem to expect
from God. If only there was someone to
teach them the truth. If only someone
would tell them how deeply the Father longs for them to come home.
If Jesus were to evaluate the Church
today, would he identify us with the attitudes of the Father or the attitudes
of the elder brother? Would you say
Christians today are helping the un-churched find grace, or do most Christians
simply look for sinful unbelievers? My
own personal opinion is that the Church spends a great deal of time and energy
identifying who is a sinner or who has sinned, but little time and energy
helping the un-churched find grace through Jesus.
For those who have received Grace,
Christ has given the responsibility to hold grace before those who have
not. He has commissioned the Church to
be His witnesses, not His lawyers. Our
task, as the Church, is not to merely proclaim “the whole world is lost in the
darkness of sin”, but to remind the world that “the light of the world is
Jesus”. Our responsibility as the Church
and as Christians is to help the prodigal to find grace and to celebrate with
them when they receive grace.
What if, what if the reason so many
people are staying away from God and His Church is because the Church does not
proclaim Grace? What if the problem is
not the Prodigal or the world in which he lives, but the Elder Son; the Church? What difference would it make in today’s
world if the Church became an advocate for the Father’s love and Grace?
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