God's Grace

Series: But Now - The Greatest Words Ever Spoken (Romans 2-6)

 “Gods Grace” // Message @ JRCC – EASTER Sunday, April 24, 2011

Text: Romans 6:1-18 // Series: “But Now…” The Greatest Words Ever Spoken

 

 

Thanks, Jared and team for leading us in that time of worship in song.  Well if you are new or visiting with us, I want to add my welcome, my name is Brad and I’m part of the staff team here at Jericho Ridge.  Well, I don’t know about your plans for this long weekend, but around our house something happens when the nicer weather hits and a long weekend coincides…  When the sun comes out, you begin to notice stuff around your house that needs your attention.  The sun is shining in through my window and suddenly there’s dust in our bedroom that seemingly wasn’t there 2 days ago.  And on top of that, the window seems dirtier than it did last weekend.  There are weeds in my lawn that I didn’t see before.  There’s dead stuff in our garden that needs to be pulled out that we didn’t notice before.  There’s a funny green film on the north side of my house and all over my patio that I didn’t care about when it was covered in snow.  It’s like a little mathematical formula: Sun + Spouse + Schedule = Spring Cleaning.  Nicer weather + spousal hints + long weekend means even if you didn’t do it, you likely thought about some spring cleaning this weekend. 

 

Now this might be particularly appropriate given the celebration of Easter this weekend.  Easter is, after all, all about newness.  About the ability to gain a fresh start.  About getting rid of the old.  We’re going to talk about that this morning as we look at a passage of Scripture in the New Testament.  And our ultimate reference point for this is the life, death and resurrection of Jesus which we celebrate at Easter.  Here at Jericho Ridge, we’ve been looking during our Sunday morning teaching times at one of the early books that was written shortly after the historical events of Jesus life, death and resurrection took place.  The primary purpose the book of Romans was written was to try and assess and explain the significance of the person and work of Jesus to people who were not physically present.  And the question that this book, the 6th book of the New Testament called Romans, is written to address is “what is the significance of the events of the first Easter?”     

 

Now, the book of Romans, it’s a classic philosophical argument from antiquity that begins the way Plato or Socrates does.  It begins by sketching out the problem so that it can help us understand the solution.  And so the author goes through 5 chapters of discussion on how things in our world are broken, both at the individual level and at the global level.  Things are not as fresh and clean and clear as they sometimes seem.  The sun has come up and it’s shining a light on all of the junk in our world in in my life.  And you notice things that you didn’t notice before. 

 

Take, for example, my attempt at spring cleaning yesterday.  Because the sun was out, I noticed the green moss or goop that collects surprisingly quickly and pervasively on the north side of my garage as well as on the kids’ playstructure and on Meg’s flower pots and really on every square inch of what used to be pristine concrete.  It really is amazing how far this stuff extends and how quickly it takes hold and takes over!  It’s everywhere I look- moss is taking over.  If you were to look at my driveway and ask: what is the primary characteristic of that slab?  What’s in charge there?  The answer for My Mossy Driveway is first moss, then driveway.   It’s a question of dominion…  What is the controlling characteristic of my driveway? And in Romans, this is the author’s central argument.  That Christ’s death and resurrection at Easter is necessary because of all of the junk that has collected in our world and in your life and mine.  The controlling or dominant characteristic of our world is negative – it’s been coated and invaded and is now controlled by something slimy and not good…  And so the author of Romans has spent a lot of time making the point that stuff needs to get cleaned up. 

 

Last weekend, we had 6 people from Jericho share their stories.  And I was appreciative of the fact that they talked about the challenges, the loss of close family members, and about eating disorders and about the things that they still wrestle with…  They talked about how having God as a part of their lives doesn’t magically make the grime disappear.  There’s still stuff that hurts.  Still stuff to work through and to work on and that’s where the writer of Romans takes us today for a summary of chapters 2-5.  If you have your Bibles, turn to Romans chapter 6 and we’ll explore the power and mystery of God’s Grace

 

Now, one of the great things about the Bible is how vivid the word pictures are.  And so I want you to be on the lookout for some of the key images that the author is using to help us wrap our minds around what’s so amazing about grace.  As I read through this text, I’ll be reading it from the Message because the word pictures really come to life.  I want you to pay close attention to see how many word pictures you can count in the text as it comes up on the side screens or as you follow along in your own Bible.  If you don’t have a copy of the Bible yourself, we have some available at the Welcome Centre. Just head back and visit Michelle and take one home with you.  That’s our gift to you – and it comes with a follow up gift.  Pastor Keith or I will buy you a coffee and we can talk further about it.  OK, so let’s look at the word pictures in Romans chapter 6…

 

[5 Scripture slides]

 

Phew… Did you catch all that?  There’s an amazing amount of information packed into those few short paragraphs.  But we learn an amazing amount about ourselves and about God’s grace in Romans 6, don’t we, through those word pictures.  What were some of them? 

 

How many word pictures did you find?

  • Country & Citizenship (moving house)
  • Death & burial (life & resurrection)
  • Conquering & reigning over sin & death
  • Mother tongue vs. dead language
  • Tyranny vs. freedom (voting language)
  • Errand running

 

One of the first things we learn about grace is how vast it is.  Like the moss on my driveway, it over-runs anything we have done, not matter how horrible.  So, the natural thought might be “Cool.  Grace is amazing and pervasive so I can do whatever I want, make an appeal to grace, say “oops, so sorry, God.” and like a lenient parent, grace kicks in.”  In fact, if you follow this logic further, you might be tempted to think “I should really get out there and live it up because the more I screw up, the worse I behave, the more of God’s grace I get to experience. 

 

But here’s the amazing thing about God’s grace…  Grace doesn’t just cover over our sins with a gentle “there, there now”…  Romans 6 reminds us that grace does something more drastic and more potent – it breaks the power of sin in our lives.  The New Testament clearly teaches that this power comes from one place: the empty tomb.  That Christ’s victory over sin and death on that first Easter morning is what gives us cause to celebrate and gives us hope that we too can share in this victory.  You see, grace doesn’t just cover over our messes…  It’s like a high pressure power washer - when you begin to experience the grace of God in your life, it blasts off the grime and the guilt and grit of the past.  The treatment is not superficial or cosmetic…  It gets down to the very roots of the problem and blasts it clean as new. 

 

So many of us have this idea that we need to clean ourselves up in order to come to God. So we slap on a coat of fresh paint onto our lives, we buy a new dress for Easter, we try to purge our language and we try to change our behavior, we promise God and those around us that we’ll stop lying or we’ll do better next time…  But our heart is still untouched.  So here in Romans 6, the Gospel proposes a solution: You and I need to die.  We are to identify with Jesus and allow our old self to be put to death.  You might think “Whoa. Why be so dramatic with the word pictures?!”  Well, I know my own heart and how deep some of this stuff goes.  The moss in some places isn’t superficial… it’s deep and dark and ugly.  If I am going to experience freedom and life and hope, I need something deeper that a little cosmetic window dressing.  I need a decisive shift in state that causes me to die to the power of sin in my life. 

Think of it this way…  My grandfather who is now in his late 80’s, was diagnosed with cancer when he was in his 30s.  In the 1950’s medical technology wasn’t as precise and as sophisticated as it is today and the cancer was so potent, so deep that the best medical advice was to amputate his leg.  In order to change his body’s relationship to the illness which they could not kill and if left untouched would kill him, they severed his leg.  This is how bad the problem is in your life and mine and it’s why Romans 6 uses the language of old-self, new-self…  Because being a Christian is not about God performing a little cosmetic procedure on your life to make you a better or nicer person.  Grace is much much deeper and more profound in its effects than that.  Watch this video and you’ll see what I mean…

MEDIA: “Erase”

 

This is why we have called the series in Romans.  “But Now…  The Greatest Words Ever Spoken”.  Because the most powerful and eternally significant words ever spoken over a person’s life are the words “you once had this written large across the whiteboard of your life…  BUT NOW, because of the power of the risen Jesus and the freedom and life that He offers you, God is writing something different.”  There are three primary images that I want to leave you with today from Romans 6 to help this become a reality in your life. 

 

Image #1: We all need a deep clean (Powerwashing my mossy driveway)

Not just a cosmetic or behavioural change that we could manage on our own.  Where moss and grime has held dominion in your life, today could be the day where God wipes that all clean.  Blasts all of the guilt and shame – the wrong things done and the good things left undone…  Today is your day for a clean slate.  To begin your new life free from the power of sin and death.  Life with God that begins today and goes on forever.  Don’t worry about cleaning yourself up – simply come and say God, I have tried to clean up my white board on my own and it hasn’t worked.  I need you.

 

The second image is found later on in Romans 6 and we don’t have time to read the who text but it’s an image that is familiar to many.  It’s the image of slavery. 

Image #2: Newly Emancipated Slaves

I can know I am free but it takes time and training to penetrate my thinking and my behaviour

 

BUT NOW

  • Dirty BUT NOW Cleansed

          - What aspects of my life need a good power washing this morning?  

 

  • Slave BUT NOW Free

          - Are there areas of my life where I still experience bondage?        

 

Today could be your BUT NOW moment…  Prayer team available, Jared and team will lead us in songs of response and gratitude. 

 

 

 

 

 

What does a power washer, slavery and a moss covered driveway have to do with Easter?! Join the people of Jericho Ridge for an Easter exploration of God's incredible grace as we conclude our series in Romans.
April 24, 2011
Romans 6:1-14

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