Grace for the Race

Have you heard anyone use the word “scapegoat” outside the church?  In common conversation, a scapegoat is someone who is made to bear the blame of others.  “The team fired its manager,” a sportswriter might explain, “making him a scapegoat for the players’ failure to perform in the clutch.”  Have you ever been made to be a scapegoat?  Have you ever made someone a scapegoat for you?

As many of you know, the word scapegoat is introduced in the Old Testament. During the Day of Atonement, Aaron the high priest would lay his hands on the head of a live goat and confess the sins of the people of Israel.  This scapegoat was then released into the wilderness, symbolically bearing the sins of the Jews and carrying them away from the presence of God.  As Psalm 130:12 rejoiced, “As far as the east is from the west, so far does [the Lord] remove our transgressions from us.”  In the New Testament, Jesus is our supernatural Scapegoat, who actually did bear all our sin away from us and from the presence of God . . . bearing them away as far as the east is from the west.  As he hung on the cross, Jesus was released into the awful wilderness of the wrath of God.  

The difference between the Old Testament scapegoat and the New Testament “Scapegoat” is the first one was a symbol (theologians use the word type) pointing to the ultimate substance (or reality).  The live goat simply pointed to the supernatural Scapegoat who would finally and fully remove our guilt and sin. 

Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.

(Romans 4:8)

Christian, do you really believe this incredible truth penned by the apostle Paul?  The awareness of our own sin, which brings with it both pain and shame, often seems to block us from receiving and resting in this truth.  Yet this is the only place we can find rest for our souls and recharging for our batteries of service, holiness, godliness, and obedience.  As long as we believe that our sin separates us from the love of God, any obedience we achieve will always be a result of duty and obligation, not a response of gratitude and love. 

The blood of your supernatural Scapegoat, our great Redeemer, Jesus Christ, cleanses you from all unrighteousness (see 1 John 1:9).  You sins have been removed from you, “as high as the heavens are above the earth” (Psalm 130:11), a distance which simply cannot be measured!  Receive it that truth!  Rest in it!  Respond to it with a heart that overflows with love and thanksgiving for the supernatural Scapegoat, who on the cross won for you both freedom from guilt and faithfulness to God. 

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

Far too many in the church today believe Jesus saved them to make them “good.” They’re missing altogether the deeper message of our salvation.  They have reduced the Bible to a book of rules and shrunk their faith to a “things-to-do” list.  For those who may be trapped in this gross misunderstanding of the Christian faith, let me say this: Jesus did not save you to make you good; He saved you to make you His!  And out of the Gospel-truth of being His, good behavior and good works naturally flow!

[Jesus Christ] gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.  (Titus 2:14)

Our goodness flows out of our relationship with Jesus Christ.  There is nothing within us that causes goodness or contributes in any way to continuing it.  Once Jesus saves us, we are His for good and for bad; for richer and poorer; in sickness and in health.

“Behold, I am with you always,” Jesus promises us, “to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20). When we understand this Gospel-truth, we no longer have to keep trying to work our way into His continued acceptance. Our acceptance is based not on what we do, but on what Jesus did on our behalf. 

“Work harder and do more!” is the slave driver’s pitiless cry to the Christian who has not yet been seized by the truth of the Gospel.  These miserable saints fail to realize that by working to prove their love for God, or to pay for the love He lavishes on us, are more tightly focused on themselves than they are on God!  And this is precisely what the devil wants God’s people to be doing. 

The dominating forces driving these individuals are guilt and fear.  They feel guilty over their past and fearful about their future.  They look back and see the countless times they fell short of God’s mark and are consumed by an overwhelming sense of indebtedness.  They believe they must repay God in some way for all He has done for them.  To be blunt, they feel they need to buy God’s love.

They look ahead, fearful about a future that will be marked by not measuring up (that is, not proving their love for God) and suffering the consequences delivered by the hand of a God who will inevitably come looking for a little payback!  In other words, they believe God is going to exact His pound of flesh from them.  When we mistakenly base our relationship with Jesus on our good works, we live lives of quiet desperation and utter despair. Does any of this resonate with you?

The way out of this mess is by going deeper into the Gospel.  All others religions say, “DO!”  Only Christianity says, “DONE!”  Because of what Jesus has done for you, you don’t have to fixate on what you are doing for Him. It is only when we see our salvation as being more about whose we are rather than what we do that we will begin living a life that is pleasing to God.  Good works flow out of an understanding that, even without them, I am still loved and accepted in Christ.  Remember this: Jesus doesn’t call us to “Do more and try harder.”  Instead He calls us to, “Come near to God and he will come near to you” (James 4:8).

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

We have all heard of tug-of-war, and most of us have played it.  It is a contest that pits two teams against each other in a test of physical strength and endurance.  When I was in the Hollywood Fire Rescue Department, a group of my friends and I entered into a tug-of-War competition called the “Tug-a-Ton!”  Each team was allowed up to but not exceeding 2000 pounds of total man weight on their side of the rope.  You could have as many men as you wanted on your team as long as the total weight of all the men combined did not exceed a ton (2000 lbs). 

I will never forget the team we lost to in the finals.  After a long day of tugging on the rope, everyone’s hands and forearms were pretty well beat up with cuts and bruises.  The team we were up against came out for the championship match wearing special “lobster” gloves for a better grip on the rope.  The gloves were allowed, but we firefighters were too proud to wear our gloves.  We fought hard for nearly ten minutes, but in the end we were pulled across the center line and into second place.

So the term “tug-of-war” can describe a demonstration of brute strength by two opposing teams, such as a rivalry between two departments of a company.  Today I want to employ a metaphorical use “tug-of-war” to describe the battle going on daily inside the heart of every Christian believer—a-tug-of-war between the sinful nature and the Spirit of Christ.  The apostle Paul described it perfectly in his letter to the church in Galatia.

The sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature.  They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.  (Galatians 5:17)

Like two opposing teams straining at their side of the rope, the sinful nature is at war against the Spirit, and the Spirit is fighting against the sinful nature.  The Bible makes this truth crystal clear.  In The Gospel For Real Life, Jerry Bridges writes, “We must acknowledge this tension if we are to make progress in the Christian life.  Indwelling sin is like a disease that we can’t begin to deal with until we acknowledge its presence.  But in the case of sin, we must also count on the fact that, though it still resides in us, it no longer has dominion over us.” 

Sin remains, but it no longer reigns.  Jesus reigns, and the grace that He poured into your life when you were saved is the same grace that He continually pours into your life as He is sanctifying you.  Sin is no longer our master (see Romans 6:14).  Jesus is our Master, and it is His Holy Spirit that has power and control over us. 

It is the grace of the Gospel that empowers us to keep on pulling, even when we have fallen into the dirt time and time again and feel like we have no strength left to pull.  When we are weak, we are strong because of the One who is on our side.  In knowing that Jesus will never take His hands off of our side of the rope, regardless of how often we slip or let go altogether, we find the strength to keep fighting the good fight.     

You see, for the Christian, the One really pulling on our side of the rope is Jesus.  It is His hands.  It is His strength.  It is His grace.  And Jesus has never lost a match!  He’ll pull us across the center line and into the winner’s circle!

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

The world places people into two distinct categories: “Winners” and “Losers.”  This discrimination is hardwired into the DNA of all of us—that people are either winners or losers.  But the Gospel provides another completely different category, which I like to call “Witnesses” and “Learners!”

Instead falling into the worldly categories of winning and losing established by a culture dominated by competition and one-upmanship, the Bible says that God’s children are either “witnesses” or “learners.”  A witness is someone who faithfully reflects the character of Christ.  A learner has fallen short of that mark, but from a posture of Gospel-saturated humility, is engaged in learning the lesson God has given to them.

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.  (Acts 1:8)

The Greek word for “witness” in the New Testament is Martos, from which we get our English word martyr.  In essence, a witness for Christ goes beyond their words in life to a way of life.  They bear witness with both their lips and their lives . . . their profession and their practice . . . their words and their works.  You see, the Gospel not only provides for spiritual needs, it provides for physical needs as well.  How else would we explain Jesus feeding crowds of thousands and making the lame walk, the blind see, the deaf hear, and the dead live again?

When Christians bear false witness—that is, when their practice contradicts their profession—they are moved into the category of “learner” . . . NOT loser.  Every time we mess up is an opportunity for the Master to teach us something about ourselves and our God.  Every time we bear false witness, whether in thought, word, deed, or desire, we are given an opportunity to learn more about the truths of the Gospel and the trustworthiness of our God. 

So the next time you stumble and sin, look for the lesson God wants you to learn.  Don’t let the world convince you that you are a “loser”!  With Jesus on your side, losing is not an option, because He has secured every victory for you on Golgotha’s Hill.  And the most important lesson we need to learn is the truth that God, in His grace, loves us through every storm . . . every struggle . . . and every sin.  He does not withdraw His love from us, no matter how often we bear false witness.

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

The devil is on the prowl for unbelievers; he is busily engaged in keeping them in utter darkness.  

[T]he god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Corinthians 4:4)

Satan is on the prowl for the believers too! Scripture is bookended by admonitions to be on guard against our cunning and terrible adversary.  God cautioned Cain, “Sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it” (Genesis 4:7). And Peter warns the church, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

To be sure, Satan can never take you out of the hand of your Savior (see John 6:37 and 10:27-30).  But Satan can and will mess up your life . . . if you let him.  I once heard a speaker quote John 10:10—“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10)—and declare that Satan is working tirelessly to steal your innocence, to destroy your dreams, and to kill you!

The devil is on mission to blind you to the truths of the Gospel in subtle and surprising ways.  You would do well to review how Satan approached Eve in Genesis, Chapter Three.  Satan doesn’t try to convince you that there is no God; instead he smoothly seeks to convince you that a Godless existence isn’t all that bad—it’s actually quite fun and fulfilling!  The more the devil can ensnare us in living a life of self-seeking personal pleasure, the more profoundly we are blinded to the life God calls us to live.

Christian believers are blinded when the devil distracts and diverts their affections to things smaller than God.  And how frighteningly easy this is to do—especially when these things are not inherently bad . . . or even incredibly good. 

• Work is good . . . but not when it blinds us to Jesus
• Relationships are good . . . but not when they blind us to Jesus
• Recreation is good . . . but not when it blinds us to Jesus
• Taking care of our home is good . . . but not when it blinds us to Jesus
• A hobby is good . . . but not when it blinds us to Jesus
• Serving the church is good . . . but NOT when it blinds us to Jesus!

My beloved pastor Tullian frequently admonishes our congregation that “Good things become bad things when they become ultimate things.”  Our love for the good things in this world can blind us to what should be the one true love of our lives: Jesus.  The devil has expertly developed the diabolical tactic of blinding believers by keeping them busy being busy.  We are certain that idle time is the devil’s workshop, so we keep on keeping on, chasing after lesser gods that never deliver what they promise.  At the end of the day, we realize that our problem is not so much in what we are running after, but in what we are running away from. 

The only cure for the blinding of believers is the Gospel, which tells us that repentance and recovery of spiritual sight are gifts from God.  Paul wrote to encourage us “in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will (2 Timothy 2:25-26 NIV).

Elsewhere Paul exulted that “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Romans 16:20).  We are not to fear, for we know our victory was eternally secured when our warrior King cried out, “It is finished!” (John 19:30).  Martin Luther exulted in the victory Christ won for us in “A Mighty Fortress is our God.”

And though this world, with devils filled,

should threaten to undo us,

we will not fear, for God hath willed

His truth to triumph through us. 

The Prince of Darkness grim,

we tremble not for him;

his rage we can endure,

for lo, his doom is sure;

one little word shall fell him.

By resting in the truths of the Gospel and recalling all that Jesus has done for us, we begin to see more clearly.  And in seeing more clearly, we see Jesus as the only thing and the only One who can satisfy our deepest needs: pardon for our sins and peace for our weary souls.

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

Do you remember the story of the “good” thief on the cross who entered into heaven moments after his conversion?  He went instantly from imperfection to perfection.  God has done this great work of salvation countless times in the lives of His saints; some folks have used the phrase “deathbed conversion” to describe it.  But our loving Lord did not do this for us.  Why?  Why would God keep us out of His heaven when heaven is what we all long for?

Charles Spurgeon profoundly asked, “Would God keep His children out of paradise a single moment longer than was necessary?  Why is the army of the living God still on the battlefield when one charge might give them the victory?  Why are His children still wandering hither and thither through a maze, when a solitary word from His lips would bring them into the center of their hopes in heaven?”

The answer to the great preacher’s question is found, of all places, in the oft-repeated refrain from The Blues Brothers movie: “We’re on a mission from God!”

If God did not have work for us to be doing, we would have already entered into our eternal rest alongside the saints who have gone before us.  We remain here on earth as ambassadors for Christ (see 2 Corinthians 5:20), tasked with expanding the cause of His kingdom.  We are here to be both salt and light.  Our Lord commands:

You are the salt of the earth.  But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?  It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.  You are the light of the world.  A city on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.  (Matthew 5:13-16)

Jesus used the metaphors of salt and light to tell us something very important about our mission.  Salt in ancient times was used both to enhance flavor and to act as a preservative.  As salt, we are to bring Gospel flavor to all we do, as well as preserve the truths of the Gospel in our fallen and broken world.  As light, we are to be visible as living epistles of Christ, shining the light of His truth into every dark place, so that God would be glorified.

So don’t fret about the length of time God takes to complete your transformation from imperfection to perfection.  There is work to be done!  You’re on a mission from God!  And the mission He has given you is Kingdom work, in which you live beyond your personal wants, needs, and desires, and live instead for the glory of the King and the good of others . . . all others!

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

I remember when God saved my wife, Kim, and me in September of 1995; we were so excited about the personal benefits of our salvation!  Jesus was going to give us our best life now—a better marriage, more prosperity in our business, optimal health, influential friends, and obedient children.  We made the rescue Jesus had provided for us all about us, not about Him, and during the next few years we began shrinking our salvation.  Does this resonate with you?

Thankfully, God did not leave us in our short-sighted self-absorption.  Through a variety of grace teachers, including Steve Brown and Jerry Bridges, God graciously shifted our focus from ourselves to His Son.  During that process we began to see that our redemption was about so much more than what we had imagined to be a “good” life.  Jesus didn’t save us to make us good, but to make us His; and as His children we are to be more concerned about His kingdom than ours. 

God not only rescues us from our sin, He rescues us from ourselves!  Self-focused living was never the goal of our redemption.  We are delivered from our slavery to self and circumstances so that we can focus on the One who saved us.  We are set free to live a life that is bigger than our own lives.  God is on a mission of “making all things new” (Revelation 21:5), and He raises us from death to life to be part of this incredible cosmic restoration process. 

When we understand God’s purpose, we can begin to see beyond the constricted borders of our own little lives.  We can shift our focus away from what we want to what God wants . . . from what we desire to what God desires . . . from what we love to what God loves.  This is when where our salvation stops shrinking and begins stretching—through sacrificial service to God and others.    

When we are wrapped up in our own lives, we utilize our time, talent, and treasure to serve ourselves and advance the cause of our own kingdom.  But when we are wrapped up in the life of our Savior, we pour out our time, talent, and treasure to serve Him and advance the cause of His kingdom, regardless of the cost or circumstance.  When we are living at this level, we can be assured that we are not shrinking our salvation.

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

Today we celebrate the signing of our Declaration of Independence in 1776.  July 4^th is a national observance of the anniversary of the beginnings of national independence of the American colonists from the authority of the British Crown.  As important as this day is in the life of our great nation for independence, it is critical that we never forget to declare our dependence upon God.

Sadly, Adam and Eve forgot this truth and sent the entire cosmos into a downward spiral of depravity, decadence, and death.  Many Christians mistakenly believe our dependence began in the Garden of Eden when our first parents sinned.  Not true!  Prior to sinning, Adam and Eve were fully dependent upon God for everything.  Their divine design was one of dependence.  They were created never to live for a single moment independent and separated from God.  Self-focus, self-centeredness, self-satisfaction, self-reliance, self-rule, and self-survival were never part of their blueprint—these were a result of their act of cosmic treason. 

The serpent in the garden convinced Eve of a lie, and Eve convinced Adam that they should seek their independence from God and live above and apart from the One who created them.  Ironically, instead of the “independence” Satan had promised, our first parents were now totally dependent upon God for His mercy and forgiveness, which they received through the grace of the promised Savior.

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel . . . And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

(Genesis 3:15, 21)

God would have been totally justified in striking down Adam and Eve right on the spot to satisfy His holy justice.  But He did not.  What God’s justice required—payment for sin—God’s grace provided in the giving of His precious Son, Jesus Christ.  Adam and Eve were dependent upon God for life prior to sin and they were dependent upon God for life after sin . . . through the cross work of Christ. 

When was the last time you considered just how dependent you are on God?  Most people immediately reflect back on a season of struggle, suffering, or sorrow and acknowledge how dependent upon God they were to get through it.  But what about the times in life when the sun is shining, the sky is blue, and the clouds are fleecy?  In seasons of plenty and prosperity we have a tendency to forget about our dependence upon God. 

Regardless of where this finds you, your next breath is dependent upon God.  The next beat of your heart is dependent upon God.  Your hearing, eyesight and the circulation of your blood are dependent upon God.  “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever” (Romans 11:36).  If God were not upholding you right now, life as you know it would cease.  This is true for every person who has ever lived and for everything that was ever created.  Everything in the cosmos was created by God, for God, and is totally dependent upon God, originally existing as a holy hymn for His glory.  So—as Americans celebrate their independence from the evil and self-centered rule of sinful man—let us all be reminded of our total and utter dependence upon God, “For in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

I cannot think of a better time than right now to declare and celebrate our utter dependence upon the righteous, self-sacrificial, and benevolent rule of our Gracious God. 

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

Today’s message is based on the truth of 1 John 4:7-8—“God is love.”

Let me ask you: are you in love with Love?  Before you quickly respond “YES,” like every good Christian would do, consider this challenge from John Piper, in his book God Is The Gospel:

The critical question for our generation—and for every generation—is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there?

If your answer to Pastor Piper’s question about being satisfied with a heaven where there is no Jesus is “Yes,” then your answer to my question is NO.

Is there something you have in this life that, if it was lost or taken away, your life would be ruined . . . over . . . driven into the ashes of defeat?  Is it your job?  Your spouse or children? Your retirement fund?  Your health?  Your status in your community?  If there such an ultimate thing, you can be assured you are in love with it more than you are with the One who so graciously gave it to you!  You have created an idol for yourself that is every bit as abhorrent as the golden calf fashioned by Israel so many years ago.

Please give this some thought: if you did not have Jesus, how different would your life be today?  God cares about us SO much more than we care about Him!  We chase after worldly success; God drives us toward holiness and godliness.  We pursue the temporary pleasures of this world; God drives us toward the eternal pleasures of the new heaven and earth.  God loves us with a love we simply cannot fathom, “an everlasting love,” as He proclaims in Jeremiah 31:3. 

To be in love with Love is to pursue Him, regardless of the cost or circumstance.  That doesn’t mean you try harder to love Him and make bigger and bolder promises to follow through.  If loving Him is an obligation, your love for Him is more about you than it is about Him.  Rather than loving out of obligation, we are to love out of overflow—the overflow of our relationship to Jesus.  This is the love that Love desires.     

Now, if your meditation on these questions leads you to a place where you feel far from God and His love, do not despair; in fact, cheer up!  He hasn’t moved away from you; you moved away from Him!  All you need to do is start moving back toward Him.

“Come near to God and he will come near to you,” James 4:8 assures us.  Jesus paints a glorious picture of the steadfast love He has toward us in the story of the return of the Prodigal, plodding fearfully toward home, no doubt still stinking from his time in the hog pens, wondering how his Father, whom he had insulted so grievously, would react to the sight of him in his abject failure and filth.  “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him” (Luke 15:20).  That is how much you are loved!

You cannot wander your way out of His love.  You cannot drift your way out of His love.  You cannot sin your way out of His love.  Because He is Love and you are His, you are loved—eternally and everlastingly. 

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

Where do you go for help?  Some go to their family; others go to their friends.  Some will dive into the advice columns or self-help books. A few look for escape into alcohol and drugs.  For the Christian, however, there is one place to go that’s better than all other places, a place where we can find the greatest help the world has ever known.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  (Psalm 46:1)

• Are you snared by sin? Claim His blood!
• Are you gashed by guilt? Claim His pardon!
• Are you wilting from weakness? Claim His strength!
• Are you frustrated by past failures? Claim His victory!
• Are you lost in loneliness? Claim His presence!

Jesus is the answer to every question.  Jesus is the solution to every problem.  He is the passage through every obstacle.  And Jesus is available to you.  He is the Fountain of every blessing—past, present, and to come—and the only way to bless a fountain is to drink from it continually.    

Jesus not only desires that that His people acknowledge Him before the watching world, He desires to be appropriated.  Jesus has been given to His people to be called upon, in both bad days and good days . . . in sickness and in health . . . in prosperity and in poverty . . . in times of joy and times of mourning. 

One of the greatest comforts given to a Christian is to know that Jesus walked where you walk; He worked where you work; He served where you serve; He ate where you eat; He slept where you sleep; He was tempted where you are tempted.  “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).  He knows exactly what you are going through and so much more.  Indeed, as the Epistle to the Hebrews says, “He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

Go to Jesus, for He is your Holy Help who can meet you in your place of need . . . regardless of where that place may be.  For He has promised you: “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!