July 27 2008

I Have Become

1 Corinthians 9:22b-23

 

As children we are told, “You can be anything you want be.”  If you want to be a doctor, lawyer, fireman, policeman or whatever, you can become that.

 

This past week in East St. Louis I watched many of our youth   become missionaries for the Kingdom of God who shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ with tenacity and boldness.  They were free to become want God wanted them to be … “witnesses to Jesus Christ.”    

 

1 Corinthians 9:19-23  Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

I would have liked to have known the Apostle Paul.  I would have liked to been able to sit down and talk with him, flesh out a few inspired statements he made such as … by the grace of God I am what I am. [1 Cor 15:10] as well as statements in our passage … I have become all things to all men.

Though I can’t sit down with Paul, this I know by his life work in the scriptures … Paul was not giving some general “self-excused” grace statement as people today tend to exaggerate and exasperate the intents of God’s grace … for Paul says …

 

1 Corinthians 15:10  But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them–yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

 

And Paul says …  I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

 

Paul life was captured and controlled by the GRACE of God that brought about the GOSPEL of God through Christ Jesus. 

 

By God’s active and effective grace in his life, Paul worked hard at being all he could be to others for the “soul” purpose of sharing the Gospel so that others might be saved [from the wrath of God].

 

·     Win Some … win them over by caring, loving, taking interest [Prov 11:30 he who wins souls is wise]

·     Save Some …  from sin, themselves, hell & the wrath of God

·     Bless Some … blessed with life [abundant & eternal] … to be a blessing.

 

Paul (1) found common ground of contact, (2) avoided attitude (3) made others feel accepted (4) sensitive to needs & concerns (5) looked for opportunity to tell others about Christ. [Application Bible Study Notes: paraphrased]

 

1 Corinthians 10:33  even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.

 

The Gospel … life, death, burial, resurrection of Christ … became Paul’s …

 

·     reference point … indicator that orients you (past) … Christ his “compass”

·     focal point … center of attention or interest (present) … point of convergence … Let us fix our eyes on Jesus [Heb 12:2]

·     center point of direction (future) … all life and ministry makes a divergence from Christ.

 

Philippians 3:13-14  Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

 

The text [1 Cor 9:19-23] calls for us to ask …

 

What have you and I become by the grace of God?

What has the Gospel become to us?

What will become of others (because of us & the Gospel)? 

 

The winning, the saving, and the blessing come from Christ who is our reference point, focal point and center point … and when He does all we do and all we say will be …  so that by all possible means I might save some.

 

Amen!

July 13 2008

The Lord’s Substitution

Luke 22:19-20 & SS

 

Charles Swindoll while pastoring in Fullerton, California tells of having a special church service on the beach where they used potato chips and coca-cola as the elements for observing the Lord’s Supper. 

 

I read this week about churches offering glutten free & low-carb breads as well as sugar free grape juice for the Lord’s Supper.  We might hear the Scriptures as …  “This is my low-carb body which is given for you.” And then he takes another loaf and says, “This is my gluten-free body which is given for you….” [Out of Ur Blog] Or you might hear, “I will not drink again this sugar-free fruit of the vine …”

 

Though we may or may not agree chips & soda, or dietary restricted breads and beverages being substituted for the “bread and cup” in the Lord’s Supper … it nevertheless is truly a meal of “substitution.”

 

Luke 22:19-20  And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

 

“The concept of substitution lies at the heart of both sin and salvation.  For the essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting Himself for man.” – John Stott

 

Those words … “for you” [plural with singular intent] speaks of Christ’s substitution in our place.

 

·     “This is My body given … as a substitute … for you.”

·     “This is My blood which is poured out … as a substitute … for you.”

 

You and I might ask … “Why do I need a substitute?” 

 

Romans 3:23-25a for all have sinned [Man’s Dilemma] and fall short of the glory of God, [Man’s Demise] 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. [God’s Deliverance] 25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, [God’s Demand] through faith in his blood.

 

“Substitution Atonement” is at the heart of biblical theology, and apart from it there is no salvation available. [John Piper]

 

1 John 2:2  He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

 

From the “skins” for Adam & Eve [Gen 3:21] to ram caught in the bush for Abraham & Isaac [Gen 22:13], to Christ the Suffering Servant [Isaiah 53] … God has had in mind the act of substitution for the atonement of sin.

 

1.      “For You” … The Substitution Became Sin

 

2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV  For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

 

Jerry Bridges calls this “THE GREAT EXCHANGE” … “My Sin for His Righteousness”  Bridges says, “Such is not only relevant, but essential … because it is the only solution offered by God for the perpetual sin dilemma. [I am currently reading Jerry Bridges & Bob Bevington’s book “The Great Exchange”]

 

God had His Son, Christ Jesus to become sin on the cross for us and then He, God traded our sin for Christ’s righteousness (sinless before God).  And as Pastor Jim says, “We came out on the better side of that deal!” Indeed we have because Christ the Substitution became sin “for you.”

 

2.      “For You” … The Substitution Paid for Sin

 

“If Christ is not my substitute, I still occupy the place of a condemned sinner.  If He did not deal with my sins, I must face their consequences.  If my penalty was not borne by Him, it still hangs over me.”  - Leon Morris

 

Oh there is GOOD NEWS!  Christ died for us condemned sinner and paid the price of sin “for us.”

 

Matthew 20:28  just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

 

Romans 4:25  He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

 

Galatians 3:13  Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”

 

1 Corinthians 15:3  For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, [see Isaiah 53]

 

“Christ died for our sins” suggests substitution and sacrifice … Christ died in our place and He died for our sins paying the price for sin.

 

 

3.      “For You” … The Substitution Removes the Guilt of Sin To  Be Released to Righteousness

 

Something wonderfully righteous happened in the death of Christ “for us.”  Suffering and dying for us … on our behalf and in our place … Christ NOT ONLY takes away the “guilt” of sin, but releases us to the power of righteousness.

 

1 Peter 2:21  To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

 

1 Peter 2:24  He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.

 

“God’s aim in “guilt-lifting” substitution [John Piper] is that we might die to sin and live to righteousness … not in our own power but in the power of the resurrected Christ.

 

Talk about WWJD … it is far more than a bracelet or t-shirt to be worn … but a power-filled-passion to live as Christ did … for righteousness. [A simple suggestion to the Church in following Jesus: “Shut Up & Serve”]

 

Christ and the Cross doesn’t just create for us new possibilities … it creates new persons.

 

Galatians 2:20  I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

 

2 Corinthians 5:17  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

 

One last thought before we engage the Lord’s Substituted Supper. 

 

How are we to understand, appreciate and marvel at the SUBSTITUTIONARY ATONEMENT of Christ? [Captivating thought by John Piper]

 

2 Corinthians 1:9  Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.

 

Sin has a death sentence strapped to it … and man strapped to it.  This meal of substitution would have feel the weight of the sentence of death … and then remember Christ, who as our SUBSTITUTE died “for us” so that we might be free to live like Him and for Him.

 

Amen!
_________________________________
Bob AuBuchon, Pastor FBC Camdenton, Missouri
Credit for outlines, thoughts, and quotes are given from their sources.
New International Version is used unless otherwise stated.

 

 

July 06 2008

Lost & Found Older Brother

Luke 15:25-32

 

Today we conclude the series “Lost & Found” with a look at the older brother in Luke 15.

 

Luke 15:25-32  “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ 28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ 31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.

Brothers … they can be cohorts working together like a  Mose & Aaron … James & John or they can be connivers working against one another like a Jacob & Esau … Cain & Abel.  It is Cain who asks, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” [Gen 4:9] when questioned of the whereabouts of his brother Abel, whom he had killed out of anger. 

Here we have two brothers … younger and older … with the older having great disdain and anger toward his younger brother and who felt justified for feeling as such.

 

·     Saw Himself as Privileged … older and owner of all the inheritance … blessed … he valued his higher & privileged position.

 

Luke 18:11  The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men–robbers, evildoers, adulterers–or even like this tax collector.

 

·     Saw Himself as Productive … out in the field working [not wasting his life and livelihood] … running the family business … his mind & heart said, “All works, no grace!”

 

·     Saw Himself as Prideful … He was feeling superior and self-righteous, and was now annoyed that his brother was being lavished with mercy and kindness.

 

He would not go in … refused … he wanted no part of seeing his brother much less forgiving and celebrating with him.

 

The older son couldn’t stand the idea of his father showing mercy and grace to his younger brother.  He did not deserve them!  He had done nothing to earn it!  [Ahh … don’t miss the picture of grace … unearned favor of God! … Jesus paints with words.]

 

The thought of “reconciliation” was despicable to this son.  Listen to his words!

 

Luke 15:30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

 

Jesus is painting with words a picture of an attitude behind the heart. 

 

Matthew 23:13  “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces.

 

Matthew 23:27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean.

 

At this time in the story we find God once again being the initiator of a loving relationship … God really does love and wants to have a relationship with all of us.  As the father had gone out on the road to meet his younger son, so the father goes out to meet with his older son.

 

He is met with great indifference from the older son … legalist … All these years I’ve been slaving for you … self-righteous …  never disobeyed your orders [rich young ruler … “all these I have kept”].

 

Jesus once again confounds those listening … as the Father meets the indifference of the older son with unconditional love. 

 

·     Loving Plead … the going out to the older son was a means of asking him to come in.

·     Loving Promise … the father says “everything is yours!”

 

Remember what the main thrust of the parable(s) is about … God loves the lost … sinner.  Here it is translated …  God loves the Pharisee.

 

Luke 15:32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

 

Jesus doesn’t end the story … He leaves it open for how you and I will respond. 

 

I started this series by saying … In such parables I see myself … I am the lost sheep … I am the lost coin and I am the lost boy (son) … and I am the lost brother who stayed home and I am the lost muttering Pharisee.  But of all I see myself to be … it is the “found” in the parable I long to be.

 

Amen!

 

Bob AuBuchon, Pastor FBC Camdenton, Missouri
Credit for outlines, thoughts, and quotes are given from their sources.
New International Version is used unless otherwise stated.

 

* This sermon series “Lost & Found” were developed from a series of message by Alan Carr.  Outlines and content vary from original, but thought and commentary from ACarr are appreciated.