Sermon by Mike Mazzalongo
Video Title: No Grace, No Gospel – Mike Mazzalongo
Creator: Bibletalk.tv
Original Video: No Grace, No Gospel - Mike Mazzalongo / Bibletalk.tv https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_HV5Pt-EB4&t=10s
License: Creative Commons Attribution license (reuse allowed)
Video Title: No Grace, No Gospel – Mike Mazzalongo
Creator: Bibletalk.tv
Original Video: No Grace, No Gospel - Mike Mazzalongo / Bibletalk.tv https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_HV5Pt-EB4&t=10s
License: Creative Commons Attribution license (reuse allowed)
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00:00We're going to begin or continue rather our series on Amazing Grace.
00:05Tonight's lesson entitled No Grace, No Gospel.
00:10If you haven't got grace you haven't got the gospel. Best way to find out if you're preaching the
00:15gospel is examine your message and see if there's grace there because if you haven't got grace
00:20you haven't got the gospel.
00:23Well you know in order to explain what something is sometimes you have to begin by
00:28describing what it isn't. So I'm going to start tonight talking about what grace
00:33is not. Some images some popular images that people have
00:38put forth to try to describe grace which have
00:43been incorrect. So let's begin with what grace is not.
00:48First of all grace is not a dividing line. A dividing
00:53line. Some people think that grace is a kind of a point or a line
00:58that divides being safe from being lost. If you're on this side you're safe if you're on
01:03that side you're lost. If I'm on this side of the line I'm under grace
01:08because grace starts at the line and if I'm on the other side I'm out of grace.
01:13And a lot of people use this imagery to explain the meaning of First John
01:18chapter 1 verses 5 to 10 so I encourage you to go to First John
01:23and I'll read verses 5 to 10.
01:30John says,
01:31This is the message we have heard from Him and announced to you that God is light
01:36and in Him there is no darkness. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet
01:41walk in the darkness we lie and we do not practice the truth.
01:46But if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light we have fellowship with one another
01:51and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that
01:56we have no sin we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we
02:01confess our sins He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse
02:06us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned we make Him
02:11a liar and His word is not in us.
02:15And so from verse 5 to 7 some people say well then that's walking in the light that's being on the grace
02:20side. And then verse 8 to 10 if we follow this idea then when we sin we're
02:25on the wrong side of the line and we need to confess our sin to get back on the right side of the line.
02:30See what I'm saying. See the problem here. You see it.
02:34See the problem with this idea is that we worry about being on the wrong side when
02:39death comes. What if I slip over to the wrong side and then I die. Oh man I'm
02:44on the wrong side. Trouble.
02:49The problem with this imagery is when we begin to see how weak we are
02:54and how easily we sin it's easy to see how we could slip onto the
02:59wrong side even for a moment when we die.
03:04So we worry. We're always worried man I can't slip over to the wrong side and I want to be on the right
03:09side. We would worry less if we
03:13realize that John here is talking about hypocrisy and
03:18how God will judge hypocrisy not about lines.
03:23In verse 5 to 7 he says if you profess to be a Christian your life
03:29that's walking in the light you know the walking part. Bible when they talk about
03:34walking they're talking about your life your lifestyle. If you profess to be a Christian then your
03:39life will be evidence of this and the sins you commit while
03:44you are in fellowship with God will be forgiven you. Verse 7b.
03:49Notice the two situations are simultaneous.
03:54While you are walking in the light. God forgives you your sins.
03:59Whoa wait a minute.
04:02Walking in the light is not being sinless.
04:06This expression refers to a relationship. Walking.
04:12That's your lifestyle. The light. That's an awareness.
04:17Walking in the light is the conscious relationship we have with God through our
04:22union with Jesus Christ expressed primarily in
04:27repentance and baptism and then of course in fidelity.
04:32It is the ongoing awareness that because we are sinners
04:37we need Christ as our Savior. That's walking in the light.
04:42You know when you say oh the light the little light just went on click you know oh I get it.
04:47The light. Walking in the light. You're walking in the light when you realize
04:52you're a sinner. That's walking in the light. You're a sinner
04:57and you need Christ to wash away your sins. Not every second Tuesday.
05:04Not when you kind of whoops I slipped into the wrong side. Not that.
05:09You need Christ to wash away your sins every waking moment.
05:15Of your life.
05:18That's why he says that to deny that we are sinners and consequently have any
05:23need for Christ makes us fools and liars.
05:31John reminds us that we are sinners and always will be sinners while we are
05:36in this flesh. But so long as we are aware of this so long as we
05:41acknowledge this truth and we trust in God for our ongoing
05:46mercy we will be saved. We are walking in the light.
05:53Walking in the light doesn't mean we're sinless. It means we're enlightened
05:58about our sinfulness and we know how we are being saved.
06:03Not through our efforts through the effort of Christ. So there is one
06:08misconception. Grace is some kind of line. Another
06:13misconception is that grace is some kind of thermometer.
06:19Grace is a thermometer. That's how that works. I don't know where this
06:24idea comes from but it goes like this. In the process of salvation you
06:29supply so much. Let's say the thermometer goes up to 100. You supply
06:3420 percent or 30 percent whatever that is. And grace is the part
06:39that God provides to get you up to 100. To top it off so you can make it.
06:44100 is salvation. OK.
06:47This imagery is based on the false premise that there is actually something we can
06:51supply in exchange for salvation and God in His grace
06:56supplies the rest. Like we give something and He gives the rest and that makes up for our sins.
07:01We think that's grace. But I'll tell you something brothers when
07:06it comes to salvation we don't provide anything.
07:10Our role is to accept forgiveness through faith
07:15expressed in repentance and baptism. We do not exchange repentance
07:20and baptism for salvation. We do not make restitution for our
07:25sins by exchanging repentance and baptism to make up for
07:29our sins. That's merely the way we express our faith in a
07:34biblical manner. Let's go to First Corinthians shall we? Let's go to
07:39First Corinthians chapter 1 verse 30. A very interesting
07:44verse. Paul says, but by His doing
07:50you are in Christ Jesus. Now watch.
07:55Who became to us wisdom from God and righteousness and
08:00sanctification and redemption.
08:04So what's Paul saying? He's saying that Jesus Christ on
08:09our behalf becomes all that we need in order to
08:14be right with God. And we become right with
08:19God through our association with Jesus Christ.
08:25And what happens at baptism for example is that our association with
08:29Christ begins and so also our advantages because of
08:34it. What is the advantage that I gain because I am associated
08:39with, linked to, in, whatever preposition you want to use there.
08:43What's the advantage of being associated to Christ? Well I gain all
08:48the things that He has gained for me. Eternal life,
08:53sanctification, perfection, holiness, acceptability with
08:57God. Jesus has all of this. And in my
09:01association with Him I come into all of those
09:06benefits. That's what Paul is explaining to us here
09:11in First Corinthians. Let's go to First
09:16Peter this time. First Peter chapter 2 verse
09:2024. Peter says the same thing actually in a different way. He
09:25says, and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross so that we
09:29might die to sin and live to righteousness for by His wounds
09:35you were healed. You see what happens is we confuse
09:39repentance with restitution. The
09:44restitutionary part, meaning the payment part, the restitutionary
09:49element in our salvation was made by Jesus Christ.
09:54That's why I say we don't give anything towards our salvation.
09:59We don't make any of the restitution part for our salvation. Jesus
10:04has made 100 percent of the restitution necessary to save
10:09our souls. We contribute nothing towards it. Whatever way we sin either
10:14before becoming a Christian or after Jesus makes restitution to
10:18God or after. I said I put the accent in the wrong place. Let me say that again.
10:22Whatever sins that we make whether it is before we become Christians or
10:27after, Jesus makes restitution for
10:32those sins on His cross. Now some people actually
10:37think that after baptism we make restitution for our sins.
10:42That's incorrect. We may have to make restitution to the government
10:48if we steal, we go to jail, if we cheat on our income tax we'll get a fine.
10:53We may have to make restitution to earthly institutions.
10:58We may have to make restitution to a friend if we had an argument and we said something nasty or whatever
11:03and we have to make an apology to the friend or to a spouse.
11:08But we don't make restitution to God.
11:13Going to jail for stealing may make restitution to society for
11:18stealing but our jail term counts for nothing as payment to God for our moral
11:23debt because of the sin of stealing. You see the difference? Only
11:27Christ can make moral restitution to God for our
11:32sins and He has done that through the cross.
11:37Repentance. I've talked about restitution. Repentance is a
11:41change of attitude about sin. It is a
11:46change of attitude about how we will conduct ourselves in the future.
11:51It is a change of attitude about who and what we
11:56believe but it is not restitution.
12:01Now there is a restitution element in repentance
12:06but repentance isn't the thing that pays for our sins.
12:11The cross is what pays for our sins. So on that thermometer scale
12:16there Jesus supplies all of what we need to be saved.
12:21He makes 100 percent of the restitution necessary with
12:26God to save our souls. So you stole something
12:32in the past. He makes restitution.
12:36You got an abortion. He makes restitution.
12:41You failed that marriage. He makes restitution. You
12:45abandoned the church and then you've returned to the church. He makes
12:50restitution. Brothers and sisters this is the good part
12:55about the good news.
13:02Don't ask why aren't people responding to the gospel when we preach. Maybe we're not
13:07preaching the good news.
13:11I want to tell you when I heard this news about all the junk that I did.
13:17Most of it I couldn't take back, fix, repair, apologize
13:22for. When somebody finally explained to me yeah you can't
13:26change it. But it's OK. Jesus has
13:31paid, has made the restitution for
13:36you Mike. I don't know about you but man that was the best news I ever heard in my
13:41life. And like Peter
13:46in many ways when I realized that Christianity would require
13:51of me certain things in my new life that I had to do away with
13:56that were in my old life. As much as my flesh didn't want to let go
14:01all those things in my old life like Peter I found myself saying
14:06but where am I going to go?
14:10What choice do I have?
14:13You have the words of life Lord you made restitution for me.
14:18Who else has done that for me? No one.
14:22Only Him.
14:25One more OK image.
14:28Grace is not a free ticket.
14:34Some people think that grace is some kind of special privilege to sin without
14:38consequences. As if God is our buddy and He allows us to enjoy
14:43ourselves in sin and have a kind of a lower standard of morality or
14:48ethics because we're His children and He like many earthly fathers
14:52indulges us our weaknesses. Oh boys will be boys.
14:58Maybe your dad was like that but the father is not. The father is not
15:03like that. Let's go to Romans shall we? Chapter 6
15:08verse 1. What does Paul say? Should we continue in
15:13sin that grace may abound?
15:17Paul argues against a form of this kind of thinking where some people believe that
15:22if grace always increases to cover sin then people shouldn't worry about
15:26increasing sin because greater sin only produced more grace. It's all good.
15:31They were saying it's all good.
15:34And then in verse 2 he says may it never be. How shall we who
15:39die to sin still live in it?
15:43So Paul argues that those who enjoy grace do so
15:48because they've died to sin not because they live for sin.
15:53And then we go to First Peter chapter 1 verse 14 to 16.
15:58Peter says as obedient children do not be conformed to the former lusts which
16:03were yours in ignorance but like the Holy One who called you be holy
16:07yourselves also in all of your behavior because it is written
16:12you shall be holy for I am holy. And you know we like to preach that we like to
16:17yeah you should be holy for I am holy and we're holy people but you know sometimes holiness
16:22demands something of us.
16:26That we don't want to give.
16:30And it's not just always about sex. It's about our attitude. It's about
16:35our generosity. It's about our violent natures. It's about our selfishness.
16:40It's about our self-centeredness.
16:43It's about our impatience.
16:47Holiness is about those things too. God calls us to be holy like He is holy.
16:53And I come back to what I've said before. Sometimes the demands of holiness
16:58brings us to our knees and we end up saying Lord I must be holy as much as
17:03my flesh fights against it because where else will I go?
17:08Who else has made restitution for me?
17:17Peter reminds Christians that God has expectations of His people and their conduct
17:22and grace is what motivates and produces this conduct.
17:27I had an old girlfriend many many years ago. Long before I was
17:32married. And I happened to meet her because my wife frowns on my
17:37dating. But anyways.
17:43You ever meet an old boyfriend or an old girlfriend that you know someone you dated or went out
17:47with before you were married obviously and then you bump into them somewhere you meet them
17:52somewhere again and they kind of see you in your new life. And I met this
17:57person after I had been married. At least I'd been married several years.
18:04And I had become a Christian. I was not a Christian when we went out.
18:10And she gave me a compliment but she didn't know she gave me a compliment. She says you're different.
18:15I go yeah.
18:18You're not as cool as you used to be.
18:25Now my male ego was not happy to hear that.
18:30But my spirit in Christ was. What she said was
18:36you're not as worldly as you used to be.
18:40Yeah I wasn't.
18:44I had to shed that cool person.
18:48In order to be making the effort to be that holy person.
18:54It's amazing the things that you will do. It's amazing the things that you will
18:59shed. It's amazing the things that you will try to put away.
19:04In order to be holy. In order to please God.
19:09And the motivation for that desire is the grace that we've received from
19:14God. Again He's the one that made restitution. His grace.
19:20All right. So let's talk about grace. Let's look at the word and its
19:25meaning very quickly. A definition and then maybe examine one or two examples to see grace
19:29in action. And then the lesson will be yours.
19:33A word meaning in the Old Testament.
19:37In the Old Testament every instance where the word grace is used it
19:42comes from a root word that means to bend you know to bend down or to stoop
19:46down. The application of this word is the bending down in
19:51kindness as the motivation to someone or something that
19:56is inferior that results in blessings for that inferior
20:00being or that inferior thing. For example in Genesis 6 8 it
20:05says Noah found favor grace in the eyes of the
20:10Lord. The Lord looked down bent down stooped down to give grace
20:15to Noah. In Psalm 84 11 it says for the Lord God is a
20:19sun and a shield. The Lord gives grace and glory.
20:25Always the superior giving grace to the inferior.
20:30In the New Testament the word translated as grace begins at a different
20:35place but it ends up meaning the same thing. The root word in the New Testament in the
20:39Greek means a cheerful attitude having a
20:44cheerful attitude. The application of the word is to express kindness
20:49you know a happy heart expressing itself in kindness and favors and
20:54blessings. For example in Luke chapter 2 verse 40 it says
20:59of Jesus the child continued to grow and become strong increasing
21:04in wisdom and the grace the favor of God the
21:08cheerfulness the happiness of God was upon him.
21:13In Acts 11 23 it says that Barnabas witnessed the grace
21:18of God the favor he saw God's favor happening.
21:23In Galatians chapter 5 verse 4 it says you who are seeking to be
21:28justified by law you have fallen from grace you've gone away from the
21:33favor of God. So the word always refers to a
21:38favor whether as an attitude or the result of an attitude.
21:43Now we've looked at what the actual word meant briefly in the Old Testament the
21:48New Testament. Now let's look at a definition of the word grace.
21:53The word grace refers to two things. First of all it refers
21:58to God's character. So among other things he is gracious.
22:03What kind of guy is God? Well God's not a guy. He's a spirit. He's a being. Well what kind of spirit
22:08or being is he? What kind of you know what is that? Well he's gracious. We can say that about him. We can say he's
22:13holy he's just but we can also say he's gracious.
22:18And that graciousness motivates him to create and motivates
22:23him to bless. The word grace also means
22:28the blessings that he has given us especially
22:32salvation by faith. In Romans chapter 3 verse
22:3721 to 24 Paul writes the following he says
22:42but now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been manifested being
22:47witnessed by the law and the prophet meaning you know how God is good how God is
22:52right you know apart from the law and the prophets God has demonstrated this to everyone.
22:57And he says even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all
23:02those who believe for there is no distinction for all have sinned and fall
23:06short excuse me of the glory of God being justified as a
23:11gift as a gift by his grace through
23:16the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. Paul in essence is saying you want to know how
23:21wonderful God is how right he is how right you want to know how
23:26he is the law talks about it the prophets talk about it but if you really want to know how he is
23:31take a look at what he has done through Jesus Christ. He has saved people
23:35based on the process of faith through
23:40his grace. If you really want to see how wonderful he is observe this
23:45observe what he has done for sinful for sinful man.
23:50And God has not given us simply salvation. He could have terminated
23:55us he could have provided salvation only through restitution. You want to be
23:59saved. OK. Here's a checklist. But because he is kind and
24:04joyful he provides salvation based on our association with
24:08Christ. You see how it works. Jesus he earns
24:13he earns our salvation he earns righteousness he earns perfection by
24:18living a perfect life in a human form and then he transfers
24:23that to us through association because of our faith.
24:28And God did this so we wouldn't have to. So grace
24:33is not a line it's not a thermometer it's not a free ticket. If you want to
24:39imagine something it is a gift. Imagine a box with a big bow.
24:44It is a gift it is a favor that God in his kindness has done for
24:49us. By associating ourselves with Jesus through faith
24:54and that faith properly expressed in repentance and baptism and faithful
24:59living we receive the same sin free sonship
25:03eternal life status that Jesus Christ enjoys.
25:08It's a favor because there is no other way we could achieve it. It has to
25:13come this way from God. Well let me give you one or two examples of
25:18grace in action. As I said in the lesson will be yours. The first
25:22example is David and Bathsheba. I won't read the story because it's so familiar
25:27to us in Second Samuel.
25:31We know the sequence of events. David the king the army is out at war. He's
25:36on the roof of his palace. He observes a beautiful woman who is bathing.
25:41He is drawn to her. He brings her to his palace. He seduces her. They commit
25:45adultery. She's a married woman. He knows. This is not a mistake. He
25:50knows. She is the wife of Uriah one of his captains one of his
25:54military leaders. And yet he seduces her anyways. She becomes pregnant.
26:00Then he commits premeditated murder in order to hide the pregnancy. He
26:04murders her husband. He lies to the nation over whom God has made.
26:09He didn't become king by votes. God made him king.
26:14And he lies to this nation in order to cover up the
26:19affair that he has had. Now by law by law
26:24he should have been condemned to death. Never mind for the murder for the adultery he should have been
26:28condemned to death. This would have been the proper
26:33restitution. OK.
26:37And yet we go to Second Samuel in chapter 12.
26:42Nathan the prophet speaks to him telling him of
26:47his sin confronting him with his sin. And what is it that we read in Second
26:52Samuel. It said then David said to Nathan after he had been confronted with his
26:57sin he says I have sinned against the Lord. Oh what's the first passage of
27:01scripture that I read today. First John if we confess
27:06our sins. It's easy to confess you know I was trying to quit smoking and I started smoking
27:11again. But hey to confess oh by the way I committed adultery and premeditated murder that's a little
27:16tougher. You know what I'm saying.
27:19David says I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said to David the Lord also has
27:24taken away your sin. You shall not die.
27:28You shall not die.
27:32A simple statement. Repentance. A simple reply.
27:37Forgiveness. Now did David suffer because of his sin. Absolutely he suffered
27:42socially and emotionally. The child we know died. There was trouble in his family
27:47because of his sin. But God in His grace forgave him.
27:53David could not give anything to God as
27:58restitution for his terrible sins other than dying himself. And even that would not
28:03have brought Uriah back would not have changed his adultery. But because of his
28:08kindness God allowed Christ to make restitution for David's
28:12sins so he would be saved spiritually. And because of his
28:17kindness he also allowed David to continue as king. God
28:22made a favor for David. And what was it that
28:27and why was it rather than God did that? Because of His grace.
28:34One other example. Again a simple one. Paul the Apostle.
28:39First Corinthians chapter 15. We know about Paul in
28:44First Corinthians chapter 15. He talks about the fact that he is a sinner.
28:50Let me get that passage here. First Corinthians 15
28:55verse 9 and 10.
29:02And he says what? He says, For I am the least of all apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle,
29:06because I persecuted the church of God, but by the grace of God.
29:12I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain. But I labored even more
29:17than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. What was Paul's sin?
29:22He persecuted Christians. But what was the nature of his sin? He broke up families.
29:27He harmed and he jailed innocent people. He participated in the death
29:32of Stephen, an innocent and virtuous and faithful man.
29:37Many people suffered at his hands and may have still been in jail or
29:42separated when he was converted. Certainly nothing could be given in
29:47compensation. You didn't see Paul going around trying to get the people he put in jail to try to get them out of jail.
29:54They were in jail. The families that were broken were broken. Stephen was dead.
29:59How many others were killed? We don't know.
30:03What could Paul give to God in exchange for his sins?
30:09Not all of his mission work and suffering could bring Stephen back from the dead.
30:15Paul understood that he was saved and that he was useful only
30:20because God did him the favor of charging all of his sins to
30:25Jesus Christ so that he, Paul, could go on living.
30:30Brothers and sisters, that's what grace is.
30:36When you don't have a chance, when you don't have an excuse,
30:41when there's no way you can make payment, God steps in and
30:46makes payment for you through Jesus Christ. And what He asks
30:51you and I to do is to continue trusting in that payment all the days
30:56of your life and not in yourselves and not in your goodness, but in
31:01His goodness. In Colossians chapter 2, verse 13 and
31:0614, Paul says the following. He says,
31:08When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive
31:13together with Him, having forgiven all of our transgression, having
31:18canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile
31:23to us, and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
31:30Paul gives a vivid image of the working of grace on our behalf when he
31:34describes how God nails our debts, our sins,
31:39to the cross so that Christ can make restitution for them by
31:44His death. So when we are worried
31:49about our salvation because through the influence of
31:53Satan, certainly not of Christ, because through the influence of
31:58Satan we are dwelling on the past sins and we are dwelling on
32:03past failure or we are focused on our present weaknesses and
32:08situations or we're thinking and worrying about future temptations and
32:13our ability or inability to deal with these things.
32:18Remember the image of the cross with our
32:22perfect Lord on it and all of our debts for
32:27sin securely nailed to that cross and
32:32feel the relief that comes with that assurance.
32:36While I close out this lesson and I'll do so with a prayer, not something I normally do but I
32:41think it's apropos here, I want you to think of your worst sin.
32:46I mean your worst one and only you know what that is. The one that
32:51causes you the greatest worry, the greatest pain, the greatest fear.
32:56And I want you to picture in your mind's eye, I want you to picture that sin as a
33:01bill or an invoice and I want you to go in your mind's eye to the
33:06cross of Christ and take a hammer and a nail and I want you to nail it
33:11to the cross and I want you to leave it there for Jesus to make
33:15restitution for you.
33:19Whatever that sin is, allow Him to make the
33:24restitution for you once and for all.
33:30And then walk away. Shall we pray?
33:35Heavenly Father, we recognize that only you are God.
33:40There is no other. How foolish are those who seek after and
33:45worship gods that are no God at all. We thank you for
33:50revealing yourself to us through Jesus Christ. We are grateful that you have revealed
33:55the great gift that you've given to us through Him and through His cross. At this
34:00time Father as each of us goes to that cross
34:04and nails to it our worst sin, fear, failure.
34:09Father we offer thanksgiving that the blood of Christ, that
34:14sacrifice given long ago, makes restitution,
34:19makes payment for us once and for all. And help us
34:24Heavenly Father to walk away from that sin, never to repeat
34:29it. And Father also never to worry about it ever again.
34:35Such is the power of the cross. Please hear our prayer
34:40as we offer it in Jesus name. Amen.
34:44For those who need God's grace right now because you
34:49have not yet expressed your faith in repentance and baptism,
34:54the water awaits. The church is gathered to witness your confession.
34:58Please don't hesitate to come for ministry should you need it. As we stand
35:03and as we sing our song of encouragement.