This weekend, we come to a topic that many Jesus-followers have found confusing. The confusion goes all the way back to Bible days. Let me try to explain it. In 1 Peter 1:10, the Bible tells us that God’s salvation is solely a matter of God’s grace. Do you remember the “boil-down” phrase that described God’s rescue effort in our lives? “Grace has come to you.” Salvation is about God seeking us, God loving us before we could ever love him, God coming to earth out of love for the world, and, of course, Jesus dying for us while we were sinners. Our role is to place our faith in what he has done. As the Apostle Paul put it so clearly, “It is 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.”
But, the confusion comes when we consider how that should change our way of life. Our works cannot save us, but our works should change after we come to Jesus. How do those thoughts fit together? In Romans 6, some people seemed to mock this idea of salvation apart from works by saying, “Paul, are you saying that we should go on sinning so that God’s grace may increase?” (Rom. 6:1) In other words, if God’s forgiving me apart from my own efforts shows how great his grace is, God can REALLY show his grace by having to forgive even more of my sins!! Paul can only cry out in exasperation, “Heaven forbid!”
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| Series Introduction | Week 4 Introduction |
In 1 Peter 1:13, the Apostle Peter addressed the same issue. Summarizing his teaching: Our deep gratitude for God’s grace and our deep love for the Jesus who died in our place (see 1 Peter 1:8) will motivate us to live as God made us to live—and in a way that we know will please him. Peter put it this way: “Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you…” (1 Peter 1:13) And, that grace, according to this text, is that we will become more and more like the One in whose image we are made. The motivation that is to change our lives is not fear, shame, or guilt. Jesus-followers are motivated by gratitude for grace. Moreover, according to Peter, all of this will help us enormously when we go through tough times.
So, if you’re still confused: Don’t miss the sermon.
Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor