Calvin Synod Herald, 2012 (113. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2012-09-01 / 9-10. szám
8 CALVIN SYNOD HERALD God has done for us. What Luther saw in the spring of 1513 turned the world of religion on its head. In Luther’s time, the church was basically teaching that God was passive, but humanity was to be active. That is, God was on His throne reigning. And human beings were to be scurrying around seeking to win God’s favor. Luther’s eyes were opened to another reality - that it is God who is active. Salvation is all about what God has done in Jesus Christ. Because Christ gave himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world, our debt to God is forever paid. Why do I need to be saved? Because I am a sinner and the wages of sin is death; eternal separation from the life of God. During a British conference on comparative religions, experts from around the world debated what, if any, belief was unique to the Christian faith. They began eliminating possibilities. Incarnation? Other religions had different versions of gods appearing in human form. Resurrection? Again, other religions had accounts of return from death. The debate went on for some time until C. S. Lewis wandered into the room. “What’s the [commotion] about?” he asked, and heard in reply that his colleagues were discussing Christianity’s unique contribution among world religions. Lewis responded, “Oh, that’s easy. It’s grace.” The notion of God’s love coming to us free of charge, no strings attached, seems to go against every instinct of humanity. The Buddhist eight-fold path, the Hindu doctrine of Karma, the Jewish Mosaic covenant, and the Muslim code of law - each of these offers a way to earn approval. Only Christianity dares to make God’s love unconditional [Perfect Illustrations for Every Topic and Occasion, pp. 116-117; citation: Philip Yancey, What s So Amazing about Grace?] I can NEVER DO ENOUGH to deserve salvation. In 2001, Reader’s Digest asked Muhammad Ali what his faith meant to him. Ali replied, “[It] means [a] ticket to heaven. One day we’re all going to die, and God’s going to judge us, [our] good and bad deeds. [If the] bad outweighs the good, you go to hell; if the good outweighs the bad, you go to heaven.” That’s what many people believe. But that’s not what the Bible says. “For by grace you have been saved through faith - and this not from yourselves - it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). I need to be saved by grace. I need undeserved salvation. Christ DID ENOUGH to provide salvation for me. There are only two principles by which God deals with people - grace and law. Think of the nature of God: 1) God is all-powerful, the Creator. 2) God is everywhere. 3) God is personal. 4) God is holy; the Righteous Judge. And 5) God is love. These all fit together in the Biblical portrait of God. But you cannot have love without holiness; nor holiness without love. In human judges, or in almighty God! According to the principle of grace, God deals favorably with people in a way they do not deserve. Law requires Him to deal with people in a way they deserve. Since sinners deserve hell, they cannot be delivered from this penalty by law. The spiritual blindness of man is evident in that all their religions teach that people are saved by their works, the very principle which bars them from acceptance with God. No one can ever be saved from his sins apart from God’s grace. This is exactly what Martin Luther experienced for himself. He knew he was a sinner, and he knew he could not by himself escape God’s justice. He felt condemned, until he understood God’s grace in Christ. What has Jesus done for me? Here are 7 different words the NT uses to describe Jesus’ gracious action on our behalf. SUBSTITUTION: Jesus died in my place (1 Peter 3:18). JUSTIFICATION: Jesus made me right with God (Rom. 4:25). RECONCILIATION: Jesus made peace with God possible (2 Cor. 5:19). Jesus the bridge ADOPTION: Jesus made me a part of God’s family. REDEMPTION: Jesus purchased my salvation with his blood (1 Peter 1:18-19). ATONEMENT: Jesus satisfied God’s justice (1 John 2:2; 4:10). FORGIVENESS: Jesus sent my sins away from me. (Eph. 1:7). In the movie Saving Private Ryan, a group of Army Rangers receive a mission to go deep into enemy territory to save Private Ryan. They hit skirmish after skirmish, and some of them are killed along the way. They finally get to where Private Ryan is holed up, and they say, “Come with us. We’re here to save you.” He says, “I’m not going. I have to stay here because there’s a big battle coming up, and I’m not going to abandon my fellow soldiers.” What do the Rangers do? They all stay and fight, and almost everyone dies except Private Ryan. At the end, one of the main characters - played by Tom Hanks - is sitting on the ground. He’s been shot and he’s dying. But the battle has been won. Private Ryan leans over to him, and Tom Hanks whispers, “Earn this.” A Christian pastor who was a Ranger, has written: "It’s very unlikely that any Ranger would say, “Earn this.” Why? Because the Ranger motto for the past two hundred years has been “I chose this.” In other words, I volunteered for this. So, if Tom Hanks was really a Ranger, he would have said, “I chose this. You don’t have to earn this. I give up my life for you. That’s my job.” And so, when you look at the cross and see Jesus hanging there, what you don’t hear is “Earn this.” What He says is “I chose this. You don’t have to pay anything for it” [adaptedfrom Perfect Illustrations for Every Topic and Occasion; citation: Tom Allen, Preaching Today #200], Not "earn this;" but Jesus said, "Remember this!" Grace is often defined by using the five letters of the word: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. Salvation is a GIFT for me to RECEIVE, not a REWARD for me to EARN (Rom. 6:23). A student in a youth ministry class at Hannibal-LaGrange College in Missouri learned this lesson from his professor. This student had left work early so he could have some uninterrupted study time right before the final in his Youth Issues class. When he got to class, everybody was doing their last minute studying. The teacher came in and said he would review with
