Steve Gentry
[0:00] Alright, go ahead and have a seat. [0:01] Welcome to Village Church. [0:03] If this is your first time here, my name’s Steve. [0:05] I’m one of the pastors here at Village Church. [0:07] And as always, I’m thankful and grateful to see each and every one of you. [0:11] If you have your Bibles this morning, go ahead and open them to Romans chapter 3.
[0:15] We’re gonna be starting in verse 21 of Romans 3 this morning. [0:19] And if you are new here this morning, I just want to tell you this is probably a really [0:23] good time to start attending here. [0:26] Because we’re starting a new series this morning. [0:29] It’s gonna go for the next six weeks, kind of unpacking what our values are here as a [0:34] church, something that we call core values.
[0:36] And this is what defines the why behind the what for us. [0:40] So all of the environments that we invite people to enter into, all of the ministries [0:45] that we ask people to partake in, all kind of emerge out of these values. [0:51] And our belief kind of is that in seeking to follow Jesus with your lives, that these [0:58] values even can be kind of a good roadmap as to how to follow Jesus with faithfulness. [1:05] It’s kind of four key terms that are gonna kind of guide our next six weeks.
[1:09] Some of them are gonna get more than one week, obviously, and that is redemption, mission, [1:14] community, and multiplication. [1:16] Now if you’ve been at Village Church for an extended period of time, you see that we’ve [1:20] kind of reorganized and shifted our fourth core value. [1:24] We’ve changed it to multiplication. [1:26] And as we kind of go through this series, it will probably most likely become very clear
[1:32] as to why we’ve shifted from a core value of culture to a core value of multiplication. [1:37] Not that anything really has changed, but more so that one term kind of explains it [1:42] better and makes it a little bit clearer than the older term used to. [1:46] Now these terms can also serve for you personally. [1:52] We believe as a thermometer in your life to kind of gauge where you are currently in following [1:59] Jesus.
[2:00] These terms, this path of, there’s a specific order to them, kind of represents for us the [2:06] point A to point B of Christianity. [2:11] So have you ever kind of wondered in your life, how do I kind of gauge or determine [2:16] where my relationship with God is at this current time, where my faith in Jesus Christ [2:21] is in this current time? [2:23] Am I growing in Christ?
[2:25] Am I growing in faithfulness to Christ, or is the opposite true? [2:28] Am I kind of growing more unfaithful to Jesus in my life? [2:32] And so our hope is that these can serve as some definitions for you to kind of answer [2:39] those types of questions. [2:41] How do you know if you’re a disciple of Jesus? [2:45] Is there a way to measure your progress in following Jesus?
[2:51] But understand that for our purposes this morning, my hope to communicate to you is [2:57] that there is a starting point in this journey. [3:00] There is a point A of following Jesus. [3:04] No one is born a Christian. [3:08] And Jesus was clear in the Bible to point out that faith in Him does have a beginning [3:13] point.
[3:14] It does have a place that, you know, whether it’s clear or whether you’re like, eh, it [3:18] was around August of 82, it was somewhere around there, that there is a point in your [3:24] life where you do become a follower of Jesus Christ. [3:29] Because no one is just default mode born following Jesus. [3:34] Whether you call it being born again or whether you call it becoming a Christian or being [3:40] regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit if you’re kind of a theology nerd or, you
[3:45] know, whatever you call it, there is a beginning point. [3:49] And for our purposes, and really in the purposes of Scripture, you even saw it in one of the [3:53] verses that was at the bottom of the screen during that last time in Ephesians 1, that [3:58] for our purposes we’re going to call that moment redemption. [4:01] The moment where you experienced redemption through faith in Jesus Christ. [4:07] And for some of you, I understand and I’m hopeful that this morning will be a way of
[4:13] reminder to you as to what redemption is, why it is so wonderful in your life, why you [4:20] came to Jesus Christ in the first place for redemption. [4:23] But for some of you, I hope that today maybe will be the day that you understand what redemption [4:30] is for the first time. [4:32] That for the first time in your life, you kind of begin to understand, oh, this isn’t [4:37] something that I’ve experienced in my life.
[4:39] There isn’t a place in my life where I look back to and can say, this is where I began [4:46] to follow Jesus. [4:48] But if there’s one thing that I hope is clear, is that you must be redeemed. [4:52] I think one issue that has become problematic in the local church is unredeemed people [5:00] attempting to live the Christian life. [5:04] Unredeemed people attempting to live out what the gospel calls you towards.
[5:10] So maybe you do a lot of Christian-y things. [5:13] You go to church, you try to read the scriptures as much as possible, you try to be a moral [5:20] person, you try to be involved even in great moral issues, seeking social justice in the [5:26] world, seeking to help people in the world. [5:29] But you’ve never actually experienced redemption in Jesus Christ. [5:35] And one thing that I hope I’m very clear on is that if you do not experience redemption,
[5:40] if you do not come to faith at Jesus and you are not redeemed, then the rest of it is absolutely [5:46] pointless. [5:48] You cannot have mission, community, and a life of multiplying faith in the lives of [5:53] others unless you personally experience redemption. [6:00] And so we start as a church with redemption as our first core value purposefully, as we [6:07] believe that this is the point A of Christianity.
[6:12] But it does beg the question, what is redemption? [6:15] And it begs another question, how do I be redeemed? [6:20] And then what will redemption accomplish in my life? [6:24] And so I want to start just giving you number one this morning and then diving into the [6:28] text. [6:28] Number one this morning is that redemption is being saved from the penalty of sin.
[6:35] Look at Romans chapter 3 starting in 21. [6:38] The apostle Paul writes to the church at Rome and he says, but now the righteousness of [6:42] God has been manifested apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness [6:48] to it. [6:49] The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe, for there [6:55] is no distinction.
[6:56] All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified by his grace as a [7:04] gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. [7:08] Pray with me. [7:10] Father, you are a good God. [7:14] You are a holy God. [7:16] You are a just God.
[7:19] Lord, we are thankful that you have not left us separate from you in our sin without hope, [7:25] but instead you have offered great news and that is we can be redeemed by faith in your [7:33] son Jesus Christ. [7:34] Lord, my prayer is that you would stir up among us a passion for your glory in the [7:41] gospel, that you would move in this room, that you would move in this church so that [7:47] we can look to you and worship you more faithfully so that we can follow you in your grace and
[7:55] so that we can worship and obey you greater than we ever have before in our lives. [8:01] In the name of Jesus, I pray. [8:04] Amen.
[8:06] If you Google the term redemption, and I did this just kind of, I was like, okay, if I [8:11] just Google redemption, what’s going to happen? [8:13] So I assume that your screen is going to do the same thing that mine is, maybe it isn’t, [8:17] but immediately kind of a definition popped up. [8:19] Google has like this little dictionary, and so if you look for a word, it’ll pop up. [8:23] The Google definition for redemption is defined as being saved from sin or regained or taking
[8:32] possession of something in exchange for a payment. [8:37] And those are clear definitions. [8:38] Those are good definitions. [8:41] But there’s way more to it than just those simple definitions because those definitions [8:45] beg a question. [8:47] Being saved from sin, how does that happen?
[8:50] Okay, payment made to reclaim me. [8:52] What’s the payment look like? [8:54] Where am I being reclaimed to? [8:56] And if we delve deeper to understand more, I believe that Romans 3, 21 through 26 is [9:02] extremely helpful in kind of laying out a lot of those definitions for us. [9:08] So I want you to understand coming into this what it is that scripture teaches us about
[9:14] this issue of redemption, about being saved from sin, about a payment being made to reclaim [9:20] us is that we owe a debt of sin to God and therefore need to be saved from the consequences [9:28] of that debt. [9:30] And so when someone speaks of the term, you know, being saved, we need to know what that [9:34] means. [9:35] And it’s an old school term.
[9:37] I understand that. [9:38] That, you know, if you’re, if you’re a little bit on the younger perspective or on the [9:43] spectrum, you’re like, okay, being saved, that’s this old school Baptist term, you know. [9:47] But we really need to understand it. [9:48] I mean, even Bob Dylan wrote a song called Saved by the Blood of the Lamb. [9:52] And so if Bob Dylan has written a song about it, we should probably define what these phrases
[9:57] mean and what this term means. [9:59] And so even if the term, you know, I’m saved or I’ve been saved is a little bit cliche, [10:05] you need to realize that that is a good definition of what redemption is actually talking about. [10:12] What are you being saved from? [10:14] I think you’re being saved from sin. [10:16] GK Chesterton, the philosopher, once noted that the sinfulness of mankind is a belief
[10:22] that actually has thousands of years of historical evidence to prove it. [10:27] I don’t even think you need to look very far back in history to prove this. [10:30] I mean, you can, but you can really just look at the current headlines and look at what’s [10:35] even just going on in our community or going on in the culture around us. [10:39] And I think there is plenty of evidence to see that we have a problem of sin in this [10:46] world.
[10:46] We have a problem of evil, that all is not as it should be. [10:52] At every moment of injustice in this world, every moment of pain and loss that is experienced [10:58] in this world serves as a monumental piece of evidence to show us that there is a problem [11:05] that needs to be rectified. [11:08] There’s an issue of sin that needs to be remedied, but don’t even look outside of [11:13] yourself.
[11:15] Look inside of yourself. [11:17] Because sin is not simply an invading force that comes into your life from the outside [11:23] and oppresses upon you, but rather sin is something that you struggle with. [11:28] If we just look to the simple morality of life, no matter how pious of a person you [11:34] may consider yourself to be, I assure you that there is some form of disobedience, [11:41] there is some form of rebellion, there is some sin that’s being an issue in your life,
[11:47] whether it’s lying, whether it’s stealing, whether it’s cheating, whether it’s murdering, [11:51] or whether it’s as simple as tax evasion, or some kind of secret pride that you have [11:55] going on in your life, or a secret sin that you don’t want anybody to know about. [12:00] You know that not all is right in your life. [12:05] That there is sin that each and every one of us deal with. [12:12] That none of us meet the standards in life that we even set for ourselves, much less
[12:17] the standards that someone else is setting for us. [12:20] I mean, look at the issue of satisfaction. [12:24] Look at your life and you say, am I satisfied? [12:27] The minute that you think you are satisfied in your life, there comes in this kind of [12:31] this air of discontent that you don’t have everything that you could have, and you don’t [12:36] have everything that you want.
[12:37] And what that serves to show us is that we are not living exactly as we were created [12:44] to live. [12:45] There’s something more that I don’t have. [12:47] And I want to tell you this morning that what that is showing you is that you have sin in [12:53] you. [12:54] Because if you did not, then you’d be content.
[13:00] Everything would be right. [13:02] You’d be satisfied. [13:04] But you’re not. [13:06] That reality is actually a natural law that God has worked into our consciences to show [13:13] us that we do not have everything that we need. [13:18] Something is wrong.
[13:20] You see, friend, we were created by God. [13:25] And we were created by God to worship Him. [13:27] We were created by God to find our satisfaction in Him. [13:30] We were created by God to obey the words that He has told us to follow. [13:36] But the fact of everything that we’ve talked about thus far shows that none of us have [13:42] ever are currently or will ever live up to those very things that God has designed for
[13:51] us to live up to. [13:53] And because of that, there is a God, and I believe that there is. [13:57] And if He has created, and I believe that He has, and if we are responsible to Him in [14:01] some way, and I believe that we are, then something must be done to remedy the situation. [14:09] I mean, imagine that you’re the God of the universe and the beings that you have created [14:14] to live for a specific purpose of worshiping you, finding satisfaction in you, and obeying
[14:19] you, and we’ve all treasonously gone away from that and instead have turned God into [14:23] someone that we think exists to meet our needs and give us our wants rather than vice versa. [14:31] And this is not a matter that God can just look at and kind of turn His head the other [14:35] way and just be like, well, I tried.
[14:39] Well, I, you know, it was a good shot, but it’s not working out for me. [14:42] I guess I’ll just look the other way and just let them be however they are. [14:45] Then He would cease to be good. [14:46] He would cease to be holy. [14:47] He would cease to be just. [14:49] More than that, He would cease to be God, and you and I then would be God.
[14:54] There’s really two options that God has. [14:57] Either He can destroy us all in deserved condemnation, which He can, and He would be just to do that. [15:06] Or He could put into action a plan to remedy the situation of sin. [15:13] Now understand that there are two things that won’t work in remedying the situation, and [15:19] that the two things that most of us spend our lives trying to do. [15:23] Romans 3.20 shows us that we can’t hope to work off the debt of sin.
[15:28] Have you ever done something bad and then tried, okay, if I do something good for like [15:32] a week, it’ll disqualify that bad? [15:33] It’s kind of like eating a dozen donuts and then having broccoli for dinner, and you’re [15:36] like, okay, it’s as if I didn’t eat those donuts. [15:40] Romans 3.20 shows us that that doesn’t work. [15:43] It says that by the works of the law, which means the things that God has called us to
[15:48] obey, no human being will be justified in His sight, since through the law comes knowledge [15:54] of sin. [15:54] So if you disobey God in any way, no amount of volunteer hours for any good cause is going [16:01] to do away with that, because it calls into question the just holiness of God. [16:10] And Colossians 3.25 tells us that also there must be payment made, because the second [16:14] thing that won’t work is God won’t just look the other way for any of us.
[16:19] It says, for the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done. [16:23] And there is no partiality. [16:25] There’s none. [16:27] So say, that’s good news on two accounts. [16:30] First, the most rank center among us. [16:35] I mean, you know who you are.
[16:37] You got some pretty bad stuff going on. [16:40] All right?
[16:43] The person that all they did was cheated on their taxes just a little bit. [16:50] They’re just as condemned as you are, because there’s no partiality with God. [16:53] God’s not going to look the other way on their sin, no matter how small they may seem in [16:58] our eyes, in God’s eyes. [17:00] It’s all the same. [17:01] It is disobeying him, which is the ultimate treason.
[17:08] It’s the ultimate sin. [17:09] It’s one that we’re all guilty of. [17:11] So it equalizes the playing ground for all of us in the way that no matter what the sin [17:16] that you are struggling with in your life, no matter what degree of sin you have, understand [17:21] there’s good news. [17:22] You’re all condemned.
[17:25] Because also understand that it is good news that you can’t hide your sin, because if [17:32] you could, there would be partiality. [17:35] How is that good news? [17:37] I say it’s good news, because no matter how good you are, and trust me, some of you are [17:42] great hiders of sin. [17:45] I mean, no one knows.
[17:47] It’s been like 20 years and no one has figured you out yet. [17:52] And you think, I am getting away with it. [17:55] I’m living a lie. [17:57] And it’s a great lie. [18:00] While you may fool all those who are even the closest to you, understand, friend, you’re [18:05] not fooling God.
[18:08] God knows everything about you. [18:10] God knows your thoughts. [18:11] God knows your motives. [18:13] God knows you when the doors are closed. [18:15] God knows you when the doors are open. [18:17] God knows absolutely every single thing that has ever gone on in your life.
[18:25] And you say, that doesn’t sound like good news.
[18:30] And I say that it is good news simply for the stated purpose that if God did not know, [18:38] then he could not save you from it. [18:40] But thanks be to God, because he knows he can save every single one of us. [18:48] And he does that ultimately through Jesus Christ. [18:52] You see, God knows that we are hopeless to fix the problem. [18:54] We can’t fix it.
[18:56] And he also knows that we’re hopeless to pay him back. [18:59] But in love, God made a remedy for our situation. [19:03] Know what it says in verses 23 and 24 of the text. [19:06] So it levels the playing field first. [19:08] It says, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. [19:12] This is a universal truth in Scripture.
[19:16] This isn’t a passage to Jews. [19:17] This isn’t a passage to Gentiles. [19:19] This isn’t a passage for the unreached or just for the reached. [19:22] This is a passage that is universally true that every single one of us have sinned against God. [19:29] And every single one of us fall short of that glory. [19:33] And then in verse 24 it says, and are justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that’s in Jesus Christ.
[19:43] I have to call this our caught moment. [19:45] Have you ever been caught doing something wrong? [19:48] I have. Thousands of times. [19:51] I am terrible at getting away with anything. [19:55] When I was growing up, I always got caught. [19:58] I tried to lie a couple of times.
[20:00] Immediately they knew I was lying. [20:01] I mean, my mom and dad were like these super sleuths who saw right through me to my very soul. [20:07] And so every time I did something wrong, it was like I got caught. [20:10] And so in that moment of getting caught, whether it’s your parents, whether it’s a teacher, whether it’s a superior at work, [20:17] I mean, whether it’s a spouse, no matter who it is, you get caught. [20:20] And in that moment, it’s awful.
[20:24] I mean, it’s terrible. [20:25] It’s like the worst feeling ever because there’s two things kind of working to make you feel awful. [20:30] First, it’s the disappointment. [20:34] It’s like it devastates me if I don’t meet someone’s expectations. [20:37] And so the worst thing that my folks could have ever said to me was, I am so disappointed in you. [20:42] It’s like, oh, just shoot me.
[20:44] It’s like, get the firing squad in here. [20:46] It’s execution time. [20:47] Like, I feel awful right now. [20:49] Even now, if somebody comes to see me, I am just so dis. [20:52] I never thought you and I’m so sorry. [20:55] It’s awful.
[20:56] We haven’t even gotten to the punishment yet. [20:57] Yes, you have.
[21:00] So you just feel awful. [21:02] You don’t want to disappoint someone. [21:03] But then there’s something on the other side of that, too. [21:05] It’s the penalty. [21:07] The penalty phase can be awful, especially when they’re like, I’m going to take some time to think about this. [21:11] It’s like you’re on death row.
[21:14] So you don’t know when it’s coming. [21:16] It’s like you feel like the priest is going to show up at any minute to read you your last rites.
[21:21] So in both of those moments, that’s verse 23. [21:25] It’s like all have sinned. [21:26] We’re caught. [21:29] We’ve all fallen short. [21:30] It’s disappointment. [21:32] So in that moment of disappointment, what we do is we’re waiting for the hammer to drop and we’re like, where’s the penalty?
[21:39] And in verse 24, the apostle Paul gives us the greatest news ever.
[21:44] He explains the penalty is taken by someone else. [21:48] Let me read that again. [21:49] He says, we’ve been caught. [21:52] He’s disappointed. [21:54] And he’s been justified by his by God’s grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. [22:04] It’s like that amazing feeling that in the moment that you get caught, the person who’s the authority figure in your life, who can justly laid down a harsh penalty, they can really just end it all in a moment.
[22:17] They look to you and they say.
[22:22] You’re justified.
[22:24] Penalty has been paid by someone else. [22:27] That term justified is so important in you understanding what redemption is that we have to delve into it. [22:35] Justified is a term that comes from justification. [22:37] And what that means is to be declared righteous by God or to be made right by God. [22:45] And that’s why the good news begins to be good news. [22:51] Because you come before God, you’re caught and he looks to you and he says, I want you to understand that I have declared you righteous, not just for one of the things that I’ve caught you in, not just for two or three or a dozen or two dozen or a hundred or a thousand.
[23:08] For every single wrong you have ever committed, you will be committing in this moment or you will commit in the future, thousands upon thousands and upon thousands of moments. [23:20] If you’re anything like me, I declare you righteous in all of them.
[23:26] You look and you say, how can this be true? [23:31] I have sinned. [23:33] I am a sinner. [23:34] How does God accomplish this without compromising his integrity? [23:39] You ever question that? [23:39] How does God forgive us without compromising his holiness, his integrity?
[23:44] Because we deserve his wrath. [23:47] Yet he declares that we are right instead of wrong. [23:51] Is he just choosing to believe a lie about me? [23:54] I think Colossians 2 kind of explains that our debt of sin has actually been dealt with. [23:59] Here’s what he says. [23:59] The same guy who wrote Romans wrote this and he says, you were dead in your trespasses.
[24:06] But God has done a work to make you alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses. [24:14] But how? [24:15] Note what verse 14 says. [24:17] He says, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. [24:24] This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. [24:28] So here’s what he’s saying there, because in that time, if you had a debt against you from someone,
[24:34] they would nail it to your house, nail it to a door post, nail it publicly, [24:39] so that it could be declared that you are in debt. [24:41] And what the apostle Paul is saying is that we had a huge debt against God, [24:47] a debt so large that we were dead in our trespasses, headed towards nothing, [24:53] but more and more death and then ultimately eternal death being condemned under the wrath of God. [24:59] And God chose in his graciousness, in his love,
[25:03] to take that debt and actually nail the record of our debt to the cross of his son, Jesus. [25:10] And in doing that, Jesus incurred all of it onto himself. [25:17] He took every ounce of the debt that I owe God onto himself, and he paid that debt completely.
[25:27] In love, God the Son came to earth, lived a perfect life, [25:34] so that he didn’t have any sin to die for, so that he could be my substitute, [25:40] so that he could be your substitute. [25:43] Because there was a legal demand against me, and God justly put it on Jesus, [25:51] and then when Jesus died, he said, you’re forgiven. [25:56] Jesus didn’t have a debt to pay, so he was worthy to pay my debt.
[26:01] He was worthy to pay your debt. [26:04] Friend, I want you to understand this morning that being saved from sin is not about getting your life cleaned up. [26:10] It’s not about obeying versus disobeying. [26:14] Being saved from sin is about realizing that you need God, [26:20] and he has moved towards you through his son, Jesus. [26:26] He didn’t wait for you.
[26:29] He didn’t wait for you to be ready. [26:32] He didn’t wait for you to say, hey, God, help me get it together. [26:35] Instead, God moves towards us in the most loving gesture possible. [26:41] God the Son becoming part of his creation to live among us, to walk among us, to be known by humanity. [26:51] And then in perfection, he goes to the cross, and you’re like, he does not deserve that. [26:55] And God says, yes, and that’s the point.
[26:59] You do. I do. [27:03] God says, my son’s going so that you can be saved forever.
[27:13] What then does redemption accomplish for us? [27:15] Number two this morning, redemption is being restored to a right relationship with God. [27:21] Redemption is being restored to a right relationship with God. [27:25] It doesn’t just give us forgiveness, and then we start over. [27:29] We have a second chance. [27:30] Friend, second chance, third chance, fourth chance, fifth chance, thirtieth chance.
[27:36] You’re going to blow it. [27:38] No matter how many chances you get, you are not going to live up to God’s righteous standard. [27:44] Know what he says in verse 25. [27:46] He says it’s about redemption that is in Jesus, in Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood [27:53] to be received by faith, not gained by your effort, but instead received as a gift by faith. [28:02] This was to show God’s righteousness because in his divine forbearance, he had passed over former sins.
[28:10] So here’s what I want you to understand, that you were created to live in relationship with God. [28:18] But sin has marred that relationship. [28:21] Sin has corrupted it. [28:23] Sin has barred that relationship. [28:26] It has made it impossible because God cannot allow sin into his presence. [28:31] So you’re on the outside, and then verse 25, excuse me, verse 24 comes in and it says,
[28:36] forgiveness is possible, and then that forgiveness, that redemption, it gains you the greatest gift ever. [28:42] It gains you reconciliation with God. [28:45] You say, what do you mean by that? [28:47] Well, the author assumes that the first priority of your life needs to be to reconnect with God. [28:57] You see, some have the view of Christianity that it is something that needs to be tried out to see if it works. [29:04] It’s something that needs to be experienced for a while, and if it fixes the issues that you think you have in your life,
[29:09] then fantastic, you can stay. [29:11] If it doesn’t fix it, you can walk away and say, ah, Christianity stuff doesn’t work. [29:15] I’m going to go try something else out. [29:17] But that’s not what Paul seems to assume in the way that he writes. [29:21] He assumes that the biggest priority of your life needs to be finding God. [29:27] And most people spend their entire lives pursuing this.
[29:30] They may not call God the right thing. [29:32] They may call it a plethora of things, money, fame, power, a false God. [29:36] It doesn’t matter. [29:38] Everyone’s seeking that which is ultimately God in their lives. [29:41] And Paul assumes that this is what we need in our lives. [29:46] And here he says, this is what is going to gain it for you.
[29:51] Then you can experience Christianity. [29:54] Then you can experience the life that God has for you. [29:57] But you cannot move past redemption and hope that this thing called Christianity, [30:04] as if it’s an existential reality, will some way work magic into your life. [30:09] Instead, he says, you must come before God and realize that you have a need for him, [30:16] that sin has made that need unfulfilled.
[30:19] And then by trusting in Jesus, you can be reconnected to who you needed in the first place. [30:26] You see, friend, this term reconciliation means to be made right with God. [30:33] You see, justification is to be declared right by God. [30:37] Reconciliation is to be made right with God. [30:40] It’s a relational term. [30:41] See, verse 25 states this term, propitiation.
[30:47] It says Jesus is our propitiation. [30:49] That’s not a term that we are very familiar with. [30:52] It’s not something that pops up in conversation very often. [30:54] But what it simply means is that Jesus has made a way for us, [31:00] that Jesus’ sacrifice has made a way for us to go from God’s wrath to God’s favor. [31:08] See, God passes over our former sins by placing them on Jesus.
[31:13] And thus, if we have no more sin to pay a penalty for, [31:17] we can be reconciled in relationship with God.
[31:22] Same guy who wrote Romans 3 also penned in Ephesians chapter 2 about reconciliation. [31:29] And he describes reconciliation as peace being made between two people. [31:34] This is that through Jesus, God abolished the law of commandments expressed in ordinances [31:40] that he might create in himself one new man in place of two, [31:45] so making peace and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, [31:52] thereby killing the hostility.
[31:56] See, God wants us to be united with Jesus in his sacrifice [32:01] so that instead of the sinful man outside of the righteousness of God, [32:06] God can bring sinful man and join him with the righteousness of God. [32:10] And that is what he was seeking to do on the cross of Jesus. [32:14] He was seeking to make peace because it says that there was hostility from God to you. [32:24] You see, in sin, that’s all that we can have.
[32:27] Because our sin is an offense to God, and that sin caused hostility in the relationship. [32:34] It was such great hostility that it deserves death. [32:38] But through the sacrificial death and substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus, the debt is over. [32:45] Peace has been made. [32:48] God no longer has hostility towards us. [32:51] But instead sees us as sinless as he sees his Son.
[33:00] You see, when people talk about having a relationship with God, [33:04] this is exactly what they’re talking about. [33:07] It’s the greatest peace, friend, you could ever know. [33:11] That no matter what comes into your life, [33:14] no matter the greatest joys, [33:17] no matter the greatest pains,
[33:19] no matter what it is that comes in, [33:22] I know for certain always that whatever it’s here for, [33:26] I know that it’s not here because God is hostile towards me. [33:32] I know that this pain is not in my life because of Jesus [33:35] and because of the faith that God has gifted me with in Jesus, [33:39] that I have these things in my life, these circumstances that I don’t like,
[33:43] this dissatisfaction that I feel in my soul, [33:46] this pain that I feel physically, this pain that I feel emotionally, [33:50] this pain that I feel even spiritually sometimes. [33:53] I know that it is not there because God has hostility towards me. [33:57] How do I know that? [33:59] Because Jesus took every ounce of hostility
[34:02] that God has ever had or will ever have towards me, [34:07] and he took it onto himself on the cross. [34:11] You see, friend, that changes everything in your life. [34:15] The darkest of moments can be endured [34:18] because I know whatever purpose, [34:21] and it all has purpose,
[34:24] whatever purpose this dark moment has in my life, [34:26] I know that the purpose is not condemnation from God. [34:30] I know that the purpose is not hostility from God in my direction [34:35] because I know that God poured every ounce of hostility [34:39] that he ever had towards me or ever will have towards me [34:42] onto his son, Jesus.
[34:45] Friend, that changes everything in your life [34:47] because when you are not reconciled with God, [34:52] understand that you can only live for temporary things in this world. [34:57] If you are not reconciled with God, [35:00] your life can only have a focus of gaining what this world has to offer. [35:06] If Jesus has made peace and purchased reconciliation
[35:10] to the extent that we are put back into a right relationship with God, [35:15] your entire focus can change. [35:19] Rather than temporary, you can have eternal. [35:23] Rather than just this world, [35:26] you can have all that God has to offer.
[35:31] That is a wonderful gift. [35:34] It is the greatest gift that can ever be had in your life [35:39] is a right relationship with God. [35:43] And the good news for you this morning is that [35:46] that is exactly what God brings towards us [35:50] through the grace of Jesus Christ.
[35:55] Note that it doesn’t say that we make a way. [35:59] It doesn’t say that I make a propitiation. [36:04] It doesn’t say that God is waiting for me to right the wrongs. [36:08] He is waiting for me to make the path straight. [36:11] He is waiting for me to do the work. [36:13] Friend, it says that Jesus is our propitiation.
[36:19] Jesus made a way. [36:22] We deserve death and Jesus moved to give us life.
[36:29] Understand that it must be received as a gift. [36:33] You can’t do it. [36:36] So how do you receive it? [36:40] Thirdly, this morning, redemption is only possible by the power of God. [36:45] It’s only possible by the power of God. [36:49] Look at verse 26.
[36:51] He continues and he writes, [36:53] It was to show his righteousness at the present time [36:57] so that he might be just and the justifier [37:01] of the one who has faith in Jesus. [37:04] You know, it’s an interesting thing, the term faith.
[37:09] We do a lot with that term faith, kind of defining it, [37:13] trying to figure out what it is, [37:14] but I want to kind of clear that up [37:16] and I want you to understand that faith is not some force [37:20] that you use in this life to accomplish things that you want. [37:24] It’s not a force that you work as if faith in and of itself has power.
[37:29] Faith is only as useful, it is only as powerful [37:33] as the object in whom the faith is in. [37:38] And so therefore, faith must be in a God [37:42] who can accomplish justification, [37:45] who can accomplish reconciliation. [37:49] Because, friend, God wants you to have real joy.
[37:52] He’s designed you to find your greatest joy in him, [37:56] but sin destroys our joy. [38:00] And in faith, what we do is, [38:04] is we depend on God to remedy the situation [38:09] that we cannot remedy. [38:12] And in love, God does every ounce of the work
[38:16] to reconcile and reconnect us [38:19] to the life that is found only in him. [38:24] You see, verse 26 reveals that the work of Jesus to redeem us [38:28] was about showing the righteousness of God. [38:31] It’s all his work. [38:33] Believing in it is about giving him all of the credit
[38:37] that he deserves. [38:40] Note that the text says that this is about the glory of God. [38:45] That in the gospel, God is seeking to give himself ultimate glory. [38:51] He’s seeking to restore all that has been lost by sin. [38:54] We were created to worship him. [38:56] The gospel restores us to worship in God.
[38:59] We were created to find our satisfaction in him. [39:01] Faith in Jesus gives us the satisfaction [39:04] that we were created in God to have. [39:05] We were created to obey him. [39:07] Faith in Jesus restores us, gives us the spirit of God, [39:11] so that we can walk into a life obeying God,
[39:15] where we would always disobey him.
[39:19] In that moment, I think there’s this thread of temptation [39:22] to look and say, see, God’s just trying to get all this worship. [39:26] How is that right? [39:27] If you understand the gospel, I don’t think that that can possibly be your response. [39:32] Because in understanding the gospel, you have this great God [39:37] who’s so powerful that he speaks and things exist.
[39:41] So powerful that he can move history [39:43] in whatever way he wants history to go. [39:46] And he uses that power to create a world [39:49] filled with beings who rebel against him. [39:51] And then his response is one in love, [39:54] in which he sends his own son to take the penalty
[39:58] that you and I deserve. [40:00] And in taking that penalty, he takes it off of me. [40:04] And then he who knew no sin, Jesus, God the Son, [40:08] becomes sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God. [40:14] Debt completely paid. [40:17] Forgiveness real.
[40:18] And not just some pie in the sky hope. [40:21] It has no basis to believe in. [40:24] And when I see this work, I look to this God, [40:28] and I say, you are a good God. [40:32] I want to worship you because of your goodness. [40:35] I want to find my satisfaction in you
[40:38] because you’ve given me such a wonderful gift of you into my life. [40:43] A relationship that will last forever. [40:45] I want to obey you because you are the designer of life. [40:51] That’s what it’s all about.
[40:54] That’s what redemption is. [40:57] That’s what our hope in Jesus is for. [41:01] You see, through Jesus, perfection is shown. [41:06] Love is found. [41:09] And ultimate justice for sin is paid. [41:14] See, God doesn’t just look the other way.
[41:18] God truly deals with the problem of sin. [41:21] He deals with the problem of pain. [41:23] He deals with the problem of death. [41:26] And then is ultimately shown victorious through the resurrection of Jesus, [41:31] as this shows God’s ultimate power over our greatest enemy, death. [41:39] You see, friend, if Jesus had just died on that cross,
[41:43] and then hadn’t risen from the dead, [41:46] nothing would have changed. [41:49] We would have all been pointless. [41:50] He wouldn’t have been God. [41:52] He couldn’t have saved us. [41:53] And if you say, why, I say, because if Jesus had just stayed dead,
[41:56] that would have meant he had his own debt to pay to God. [42:02] Because he had his own sin to pay for. [42:06] But friends, after enduring the cross, [42:09] dying on it, three days later, Jesus didn’t stay dead. [42:14] Jesus physically got up and walked out of that grave, [42:20] showing God’s ultimate power over sin, ultimate power over death,
[42:26] ultimate power and authority over all things in this world. [42:32] Because he is God. [42:36] See, Romans 6, 23 shows. [42:38] Yeah, friend, the wages of sin is death, and it must be paid. [42:43] Then it shows that the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ our Lord. [42:50] Because of the resurrection, I can believe that.
[42:55] Because of the resurrection, I know that I do not serve some puny God [42:58] who’s powerless over my sin, who’s powerless over my pain, [43:01] who’s powerless over my coming death. [43:03] Instead, I serve a God that has resurrection power. [43:08] And because of the redemption that Jesus has worked into my life, [43:11] yes, friend, there will come a day where I’m going to die.
[43:16] But then I will be risen again into the kingdom of God [43:21] where the Father will look to me. [43:23] And because of Jesus and not because of me, [43:26] he will say, well done, good and faithful servant. [43:29] And I will enter into pleasure forevermore. [43:34] And friend, my hope for you this morning is that you will understand
[43:39] faith in Jesus will give you redemption as God’s gift forever.
[43:48] So what do you do?
[43:51] Well, faith begins by taking God at his word. [43:53] It is about believing that God is who he says he is [43:58] and has done what he promised to do. [44:02] You see, you exist to be connected to God [44:04] and God has done absolutely everything necessary [44:07] for you to have that gift.
[44:10] And so have you sinned? Yes.
[44:14] Is the guilt and shame that you feel real? Yes. [44:20] Will any of the things that you are doing to fix your life [44:24] ever fully give you what you need? [44:28] No. None of them will. [44:31] You can’t earn it. You can’t buy it. [44:35] You must receive it as a free gift of forgiveness and redemption
[44:40] as a gift from God. [44:44] He has done everything.
[44:48] What is your response? [44:51] Well, friend, my hope is that your response will be trust in Jesus [44:55] for your salvation. [44:58] Turn from your sin. [45:00] Believe in Jesus. [45:03] And if we believe this, it has huge ramifications.
[45:06] Have no doubt. It changes everything. [45:10] Because that’s why it’s called repentance. [45:12] You see, you turn from what you were living for apart from God [45:16] to follow Jesus. It’s a brand new life. [45:19] And following Jesus, there’s the great opportunity [45:21] to grow in knowing God personally.
[45:25] And it’s understanding what he wants you to do with your life. [45:30] It’s a brand new life with a brand new mission. [45:32] And this mission is what forms the vision for the rest of our core values. [45:37] Make no mistake, though. [45:39] Without redemption, you can’t live the mission that God has for you.
[45:45] Redemption is a move of God for our benefit.
[45:52] Jesus is God’s plan for redemption. [45:56] And there doesn’t need to be another one. [45:59] It is enough.
[46:02] As the band comes forward,
[46:06] I think there’s two types of people in this room. [46:09] And so first, I want to talk to those of you [46:12] who have experienced redemption in Jesus Christ. [46:16] You have trusted in him as your Savior. [46:20] You’re following him. And I want to ask you in just the next few moments [46:24] to, in your chair, silently pray for those
[46:27] who’ve not experienced redemption. [46:30] Those who need to experience being saved by Jesus. [46:36] So for the rest of you, if you’re sitting there [46:40] and you look and you say, [46:43] you know, I’m trying to read the Bible. [46:46] I’ve tried for years to experience worship.
[46:49] I’ve tried for years to pray. [46:51] I’ve tried for a long time to be a moral person. [46:55] I’ve tried for a long time to experience Christianity, [46:59] to experience what seems to come so easily to others, [47:03] to live a life where I’m connecting with God and nothing ever works. [47:07] I never feel any better.
[47:10] I never follow Jesus any more faithfully. [47:13] I can’t understand any of the stuff that I hear about following Jesus. [47:19] Here’s what I want you to understand. [47:21] We’re not talking today about living like a Christian.
[47:26] We’re talking today about the moment where you become one. [47:30] Not by your work, but by God’s work. [47:33] Because you don’t become a Christian by things that you accomplish, [47:38] by things that you earn. [47:39] You become a Christian 100% completely by the work of God. [47:47] That’s why it’s grace.
[47:49] That’s why it’s a gift. [47:50] Because I can’t do it, you can’t do it, none of us can do it. [47:54] Only God can do that for you. [47:58] I want to tell you this morning, if you’re sitting in the chair [48:00] and you’re saying, I want that, I tell you, you can have it. [48:06] In just a few minutes, those who are Christians, those who have been redeemed,
[48:11] I’m going to call them to the tables in the front and the back [48:14] to participate in what we call communion here at Village Church. [48:17] It’s something we do every week. [48:19] The bread represents the broken body of Jesus. [48:22] The cup represents His shed blood. [48:24] And what that means is that when Jesus was paying the penalty for sin,
[48:29] He literally was beaten, He was literally mocked, [48:33] He was literally put onto a cross, which is a criminal’s death, [48:39] and He suffered, body was broken, blood shed. [48:44] And then during that, the guilt for all sin, for all time was placed onto Him. [48:50] That’s what He endured. [48:51] And when you’re a believer, He calls you to, when we gather,
[48:56] to reflect on that. [48:58] And when we eat and when we drink, it proclaims to everyone around us, [49:02] I’ve been redeemed. I believe.
[49:07] So if you’re not a Christian, if you haven’t been redeemed, [49:10] I’m going to ask that you refrain from participating. [49:13] Not because anyone in this room is better than you, [49:16] the gospel shows that no one is, [49:20] but because you can’t honestly proclaim that I believe. [49:26] You can’t honestly say, I’ve been redeemed.
[49:28] I don’t want you to lie. I don’t want you to feel like you have to. [49:32] But as people are getting up and coming forward or going to the back [49:36] to proclaim their belief, I’m going to ask you just to slip out into the foyer. [49:40] There’s people that are out there that would love to talk to you, [49:43] would love to answer questions that you might have about faith, [49:46] and they would love to tell you how you can be redeemed today,
[49:50] here, forever. [49:53] Because Jesus will never leave you, and He’ll never forsake you. [49:57] For those of you that are believers, [50:01] when you’re ready to proclaim your belief, come.