Saved by Grace

“How could so-and-so be a Christian? She’s in jail for drugs!”

Have you ever heard something like this? I have. Sadly, several times. Have you heard this one: “He’s so nice, he must be a Christian.” Again, I’ve heard that one too. Both statements are based on the same false assumption; Christians must do good deeds.

Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying to stop doing good things; I’m saying our actions don’t define our salvation. Scripture is very clear on this.

Galatians 2:16&20
We know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

I think Paul is very clear here. We cannot be justified through obeying the law. We can’t be justified by doing good deeds. That last part of the verse is interesting: ‘Christ died for nothing.”
When we try to earn our salvation, we’re rejecting what Jesus did on the cross. We’re saying His sacrifice wasn’t good enough; we still need to live a good life. We’re rejecting His grace and His gift; it’s not enough. We’re, in short, saying, “thanks, but no thanks.”

Let’s not trade the precious gift of grace for man’s fumble attempts of trying to be good.

Simple

Christianity is simple. The Bible is simple. Sometimes, we think it’s too simple, and try to add rules and complicate the gospel: you have to pray this way, you have to worship that way, you have to serve this way, etc. That’s what the Pharisees did, right? They took the simple word of God and added their own rules. What does it mean to rest on the Sabbath? Can you cook? How far can you walk? We often like to add our own rules and definitions to God’s word.

When Jesus was asked what the greatest command was, his answer was simple: Love God with your all heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. Simple right? You could take this one verse and lived by it for a year, and you could change a lot of lifes.

Simple doesn’t mean easy. ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ is simple, but it’s not easy. Being told ‘dig a ditch that’s 1’ wide, 1’ deep, and a mile long’ is simple. Is it easy? No. That’s the beauty of God’s word: It is simple, yet not easy.

Why Parables?

Why did Jesus tell parables to make his point? He could have just told his listeners. Why did he tell stories?

One reason is because we remember stories. Stories provide an emotion connection. It's one thing to be told something; it's another thing to see that principle in action. It's one thing to hear that God is forgiving; it's anther thing to see that forgiveness acted in the prodigal son.

Jesus faced a lot of opposition in the later years in his ministry.

That's about the same time he started telling parables. It was a way to make his point without the religious leaders breathing down his neck.

The disciples also asked Jesus this question; why parables?

¹¹He replied, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. ¹²Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. ¹³This is why I speak to them in parables:
"Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand. ¹⁴In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
" 'You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
¹⁵For this people's heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.'--Mathew 13:11-15

What is a Parable?

Jesus told a lot of parables. Some where about fish, other about wheat, and another about rebellious sons. Jesus didn't tell these stories merely as a form of entertainment. He told stories to make a point, or to show us something new about God.

First, what is a parable? Parables are earthly stories with a spiritual truth. Most parables are told by Jesus and are found in the Gospels, mostly Luke.

Parables compare the known to the unknown. Parables draw examples from the familiar.

What are some things parables are not?

Parables are not fables. A fable is a myth or legend, or a story that is not true; falsehood.

In parables, the examples used should not always be emulated. The application should be repeated, but somethings the examples shouldn't be. When Jesus tells the parable about the sower, it doesn't mean we need to go down to the store, buy a bag of seeds, and casts them as we walk through our neighborhoods.

Should you ask your father for your half of the inheritance, then run off and waste it all on parties? Probably not. Somethings, the examples are not Biblical; a servant who refuses to forgive, or the shrewd manager who steals from his master. The application should always be applied, but the examples themselves should not alway be repeated.

Parables are not factual. The stories themselves aren't historic accounts. That's one reason there are no names in parables. Did a Samaritan really find a injured Jew on the road? We don't know. The point of a parable is not to tell a historic account, but rather that we learn something from the story.

I hope you can join me as we look at some of the parables that Jesus told and that we can find the meaning and application together.

The Hyde Monster

According to the Bible, we are all like Hyde. We are born with the evil all ready inside of us. Society doesn’t corrupt us and make us do evil. We are born ready to do evil without any help.

Have you ever noticed that you never have to teach a child to hit, or to lie, or to talk back? Those are skills they devolve all on their own. Mankind is basically evil.

This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of men, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead.
Ecclesiastes 9:3

The heart is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?
Jeremiah 17:8-10

It’s kind of scary. We don’t like the idea that babies are all ready corrupted, or that we are only capable to do wrong and are incapable to do anything good, including saving ourselves from own monster.

This is the biggest separation between worldviews; every other world view believes that man is basically good, and therefore can earn his own salvation. Christianity says that man is basically evil and therefore can’t earn his salvation. An outside force must save him.

As Christians, we are saved by Jesus Christ. We are able to watch our Hyde crucified and die. We are able to be set from slavery to our evil twin, and new are free to serve the One who freed us.

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Galatians 5:24-25

Why Does Jesus Weep?

There are two times Jesus weeps: when He entered Jerusalem, and when Lazarus died. Why He cried, however, was very different.

When He came into Jerusalem, He wept because the Jews missed the point. They thought He would deliver them from physical bondage, not spiritual bondage.

When Lazarus died, Jesus wept because those around Him, His children, were weeping. He was sorrowful because they were sorrowful. He was hurt with them. He was brokenhearted with them. He wept with them.

Why does Jesus weep for you? Is it because you are in grief from loss, or because you have missed the point He is trying to make? Are you expecting Him to deliver them from physical bondage, while He is trying to free you from spiritual bondage? Is He broken hearted with you, or because of you?

Weeps with you

Lazarus, a good friend of Jesus, was dead. He’d been sick for days, and had finally died. Jesus had chosen not to come so “God's Son may be glorified through it.” (John 11:4)

When Jesus arrived, Lazarus had been dead for four days. Many had come to comfort Lazarus’ sisters Mary and Martha. Mary, then Martha went out to him.

“When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.
"Where have you laid him?" he asked.
"Come and see, Lord," they replied. Jesus wept. (John 11:33—35)

Why did Jesus cry? He knew what was about to happen. He knew that in a few minutes Lazarus would be walking around with them. So why was he sorrowful?

Jesus wept because those around Him, His children, were weeping. He was sorrowful because they were sorrowful. He was hurt with them. He was brokenhearted with them. He wept with them.

It is comforting to know that when we are hurt, when we weep, Jesus is also hurt and weeps with is in our pain.

Read all the story in John 11

From That the World May Know: Easter from Force on the Family

Missed the Point

In the first century, rebellion often rose around Passover. The Romans would bring in extra troops to keep everything under control.

Why Passover? It was when the messiah was to come, and the Jews were reminded that they should be free. Imagine the US being conquered by China or Russia or a country where we lost our freedom. Every 4th of July, we would remember that we were suppose to be free. That’s what Passover reminded the Jews.

Jesus comes into the Jerusalem on a donkey, as the messiah. The people are overjoyed! Finally freedom from the Romans! They start waving palm branches. The last time the Jews were free, palm branches were on their coins, so palm branches were a sign of freedom.

"Hosanna! Hosanna!” they shout, which means “Free us! Free us!”
“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”

Then Jesus did something remarkable; he wept over the city. “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.”

Jesus was broken hearted because the crowd missed the point. He wasn’t coming to save them from the Romans, but to save them from their sins and damnation.

But they missed the point. They missed the savior and the messiah.

From That the World May Know: Easter from Force on the Family

Lamb Selection Day

The Sunday before Passover was lamb selection day. Each family had to pick the lamb they would use. It had to be perfect: no spots or defects. After the lamb was picked, the family would bring that lamb into their home to live with them until Passover

On the lamb selection day, what we call Palm Sunday, Jesus came into Jerusalem. He stayed there, lived with the Jews, until Passover, when he was killed.

Jesus used the picture of Passover to show the Jews He was the Jesus used the picture of Passover to show the Jews He was the lamb of God.

The First Passover

The Passover is a national holiday of the Jews, both Jesus’ day and today. How did it start? Why is it so important?

Throughout the Old Testament, God has given many examples of what His one and perfect sacrifice would look like. One of these examples was Passover.

When the Jews were slaves in Egypt, God told Moose that He would send the angel of death to kill the first born of every house hold.

The family had to take a perfect lamb with no spots or defects and bring into their home to live with them for a week. Then, they had to kill the lamb and smear the blood on the door posts of their home. When the angel of death came, he would see the blood and pass over the house, spearing the first born.

By the blood of the lamb, death passed.

The End of the Beginning

A short video I made. In this video, air plane passengers discuss the life of Jesus; His birth, His miracles, His death, and His glorious resurrection. Song dramatic song is performed by David Phelps.

"It Is Finished"

When sin entered the world, so did death. For every sin mankind committed, something had to die. The practice of sacrificing animals, especially lambs, began.

Whenever Man sinned, an innocent animal would have to be killed, and by its blood that sin was cleansed. A sacrifice had to be constantly given, for we are constantly sinning.

The Jewish people under Moses sacrificed twice a day; in the morning at 10am, and in the afternoon, at 3pm. At the time of sacrifice, a priest would blow the shofar, a Jewish horn. At that moment, the lamb’s throat was slit, and all the religious Jews would pause for a moment, begging God to remember the final and perfect sacrifice He’d promised to Abraham. This practice continued for years.

About 2,000 years ago, Jesus hung on a cross. At 3pm, the shofar sounded for the sacrifice, and Jesus said, ‘it is finished.’ Then He died.

The daily sacrifices weren’t needed anymore, for He was the last, perfect, and sinless sacrifice.

Jesus’ life: Miracles

Jesus was always healing people; the lame, the sick, the blind, the mute, etc. Every miracle was an act of love; he was serving someone else.

In that day, the teachers (Rabbi) had to be clean. There was a list of requirements that a teacher must do to remain clean; ceremonial washing, not touching dead animals, etc. One of the requirements was you couldn’t touch a dead or ill person. If you did, you had to go through this time-consuming ceremonial washing.

When the widow’s only son had died, Jesus had compassion on her. She now had no one to provide for her.

At the funeral, Jesus came forward, touched the boy, and healed him.

Jesus touched him. Jesus knew he’d have to do ceremonial washing, but he did it anyway. He put the needs of the widow and her son before his own.

I think Jesus had to go through the ceremony washing a lot, because he was always touching and healing sick people.

Jesus demonstrated love by putting other’s needs before his needs.

Jesus' life: The cross

Jesus is love. He doesn’t have love; He is love. You cannot separate the two. If you have Jesus, you have love. If you have love, you have Jesus. Jesus can’t run out of love; it’s a part of His identity. Jesus is love. Jesus life is a perfect example because He didn’t just have love; He was love.

Let’s look at Jesus and His life on Earth. The reason he came was to die for us and to save us. He chose to leave heaven, live like a human for 30 some years, and then die a cruel death.

What did the cross do for Jesus? Nothing. It brought Him only pain. He sacrifice and lost everything He had.

What did the cross do for us? Everything. It gave us life and saved us.

Jesus didn’t put himself first, but He always put other first. If He’d been thinking of Himself and His own well being, He would have stayed in Heaven. But He didn’t. He chose to put others and their needs before His own.

Love is putting others’ needs before your own.

Jesus is love

We are all familiar with 1 Corinthians 13 , or The Love Chapter. We often hear it read at weddings or during a sermon. It is a great chapter and shows a good picture of what love is.

Jesus is love. He doesn’t have love; He is love. You can not separate the two. If you have Jesus, you have love. If you have love, you have Jesus. So, if we go back and look at the Love Chapter seeing Jesus as love, it looks like this:

1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not Jesus, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not Jesus, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not Jesus, I gain nothing.

Jesus is patient, He is kind. He does not envy, He does not boast, He is not proud. Jesus is not rude, He is not self-seeking, He is not easily angered, He keeps no record of wrongs. Jesus does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7He always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8aJesus never fails. 13And now these three remain: faith, hope and Jesus. But the greatest of these is Jesus.