Jul 2 2017 Gospel Part 2 - How a Person Comes to Christ

Tuesday is July 4 – so it is good to remember to thank the Lord for all that He has blessed us with –

Lord, You are with us – and You want to reveal Yourself to us and that is why we gather, that we might experience You. You have given us freedom and blessings – teach us to be grateful – and to not neglect what we have in You. That happened with the Israelites – when I bless You, You told them – not to forget You. Help us to be grateful for that and for those who serve this nation in so many ways – be it government or safety forces. Now open up Your word as we focus on the gospel – grab hold of our hearts – that we might long to tell the world.

So we are in this series on the gospel – and it will go through July.

Today – I want to focus on how a person comes to Christ – and when we do that – we are reminded of Ephesians 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

There are two words that are often used. We looked at what a good understanding and definition of what the gospel is – and this week, there are two words I think we don’t understand fully – grace and faith.

You’ve probably heard of grace as described as unmerited favor and getting what we don’t deserve.

But the word GRACE in the New Testament is much fuller than that – and that influences what we understand about salvation and coming to Christ.

In the context of the NT – the Roman Empire had a system of patronage. We don’t use that much – but we know what a patron is – if you have ever watched PBS – this program has been brought to you by a gracious grant from the Donald and Darlene Shiley foundation…

Carnegie Hall – built by Carnegie because he was a patron of the arts.

In the Roman Empire – there was a matter of pride in taking wealth to benefit others in the community – so they would have benefactors – who would help those in need or do special things for those in the community – they didn’t have welfare or social security. The Roman government did not help the poor in any way. The reason I explain patrons and benefactors – the word grace comes out of that.

Grace had three distinct meanings within this social context – first of the benefactor’s favorable disposition toward the petitioner. The benefactor wanted to do good to those in need. Second – the actual benefit conferred. The gifts – part of grace – the gifts that the patron would give. Grace = gift. Same word. So this person who wanted to do good to others would give gifts to those people.

Then the third part – the person who would receive was called the client. The third part is the client’s gratitude – the necessary response for the favor shown.

Ann VosCamp – the thousand gifts – she explains that.

Gratitude would enhance the patron’s honor – and the client should express loyalty to the patron.

With grace – and the offering of grace – the person must make a response of gratitude and loyalty. God is the great patron – For God so loved the world –

He has the favorable disposition – wanting to do us good.

What is next – the actual benefit conferred – He gave a gift of His son.

What is next – that whoever responds – believes – is grateful for the gift.

Grace begins as God looks down in love on humanity – and in response to our need – He gives His son and dies on the cross – and now that grace demands a response from humanity. It must be received – accepted. Faith must be exercised. What is biblical saving faith? We have 3 aspects – an intellectual agreement or affirmation of truths related to Jesus. It is agreeing with a certain set of beliefs about Jesus and God. That is one aspect of faith. But it is not enough. Just to believe these truths is not enough. The second aspect of faith is trust.

We use the term – like sitting in a chair – you believe the chair will hold you up – you sit in it – you trust that chair – you put your faith in it.

To trust a patron – to believe that he or she can provide what is promised.

We are entrusting our future to Jesus when we put faith in Him.

That is important – we need to believe that stuff – but we also need to entrust our lives in the future to Him.

“Faith also represents the response of loyalty on the part of the client. Having received benefits, the client must demonstrate loyalty to the patron.

We need to do the same in the gospel – as we talk about what it means to be Christian.

30-40 years ago – there was a debate/argument – about the lordship/salvation – two famous writers and pastors wrote against one another holding their position – and the debate raged a number of years. The debate was created by – a lot of people asked Christ into their hearts, but their lives never changed. It is a little different today. Today – everyone assumes they are a Christian – it might be something else tomorrow. But then – nothing ever changed. Lordship salvation vs. grace only. Looking at the battle – both sides had bible verses and important points to make – but they were still in conflict with one another.

I think arguing causes…. – We should have good theological discussions – but the argument causes us to overemphasize our point and to miss what the other is trying to say.

What is needed is a fuller understanding of the gospel and faith and grace. As you get a fuller understanding – it brings both sides of the argument together in a cohesive voice.

With grace – it is not opposed to effort, choice, or decision. It is opposed to earning or deserving. We cannot earn or merit our salvation – we cannot do enough good to outweigh eh bad that we do. Salvation is a free gift – but it demands a response.

A decision – every individual must make a decision about what they are going to do about that gift – and it must be received as it is given.

How does a person come to Christ?

Romans 10:9-10 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

This verse caused all the controversy.

First – one must have an intellectual affirmation about certain truths of Jesus

Second – you must trust that His death and resurrection wholly accomplish our salvation.

Third – we must confess Jesus as Lord. This is the response part of loyalty.

What does Lord mean? The Big Guy in the Sky? It doesn’t say that! For them – saying Jesus is Lord is the same as saying Caesar is not. Jesus is KING! The ruler of all! The exalted King.

Some of you remember Doug Brown – He was speaking at a conference I was at – a Chinese girl was going to become a citizen – and they went to support her. The judge – got up and said – stand and say where you are from – and now renounce your loyalty to your former country. And they renounced their loyalty – and now, swear allegiance.

I think that is what it means to become a Christian. We don’t do anything. This is where the analogy breaks down. To become a citizen – you have so much to do.

Sean and Elysia got married last weekend – in their vows – forsaking all others. They don’t have to do anything – not to cook meals for ten weeks in a row – but pledging allegiance to one.

When there would be a new Caesar or Lord appointed – the evangelists would go out proclaiming the good news – the gospel to all the people -= the new Caesar – Lord and King! And people would announce their loyalty.

Like the British – the king is dead – and they would turn to the heir – Long live the king!

They would have gotten this in their day. It is moving our loyalties –

My heart, Christ’s home. Jesus comes into our heart – and he goes through all the rooms. The idea is that Jesus sits on the throne of our heart. We have done nothing but believed and trusted and confessed. But as God goes through the rooms of our hearts – He weeds out things. We are told to work out our salvation with fear and trembling – and we are to respond to Him as lord.

One other question that comes up – the question of repentance. Does one have to repent? When the gospel is preached – the word repentance is often used in Acts. So I want to take a few sections to address this – and I think it comes down to not having a good understanding of what the gospel and grace means…

Acts 17:29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

He is in Athens and walking around the city – and it is filled with idols and temples and altars – to an unknown god – you don’t know what you are worshiping – repent! The realization that you have gotten off the path and deciding to get back on the path. In this specific situation -= and the way the word is used – it is a change – when we are told to repent – a change of direction in how one relates to God.

When we come to faith in Christ, we must have a change of direction in how we relate to God.

So in one sense, repentance is required. These folks had to change their direction – God is not found in this thing made of gold. God is found in Jesus Christ.

There is an aspect of repentance that causes confusion – and I may be causing that now! In the Bible – people are told to repent of sins. You don’t have to repent of every single type of sin to believe in Jesus. You do have to repent and have a change in direction in how you relate to God – and that is a repentance. I do believe, and have seen – where a specific sin can hinder a person from becoming a follower of Christ.

An example would be someone who has bitterness and unforgiveness toward someone. I’ve known people like that – who are unable to receive God’s grace. They are just unable to do it. But there is a difference between telling someone they need to forgive someone to believe in Jesus and helping them see how their bitterness is keeping them from God.

I think what we need to do is to help them understand that in coming to Jesus He will begin to heal that addiction, that bitterness, that anger.

I believe that can be a very profound and important way for us to communicate the gospel in our world. It is not – "O come to Jesus and your life will be great and wonderful -No! - it is come to Jesus and He will make you do a lot of hard work! But that will transform who you are! It is not about making Jesus Lord and it not being something you want to do. We all give our lives to something – and all those other masters in the world are awful – money is a pretty good thing, but in the long run, it will destroy you. Sex – addiction – will destroy you if it is your master. There is only one good and benevolent Lord who is good for your well-being – that is the message we have. Let's pray...

Again, help us to see, that as our Gospel message is transformational - light and life. Without it there is darkness! And our world is deceived into thinking that we are enlightened when so much of it lives in complete darkness. Life is only in You! in Your Name we pray