But I just want to talk about how we respond to the Son’s role in the story of grace, right?
Because it’s, it’s great to know things, but how do we respond to the Son’s role? And first I want to talk about how we shouldn’t respond, but often how we do respond. I think in one way we respond to the Son’s story of grace is legalism. I think in one way we respond to the Son’s story of grace is legalism.
Right. My definition of legalism, you’ve never heard that term. Term is, is, is trying to pay for something that’s already been paid for. The Pharisees were guilty of this, right? They would see God’s law as this circle, these are God’s commandments. And then they draw a smaller circle and say, you know, if you, if you do these things, you’re even a, a better Christian.
You’re even holier, you’re even more righteous, right? But legalism is trying to pay for something that’s already been paid for. Like we just went over earlier, it was the perfect work of Jesus Christ that redeems us. Nothing we can do ourselves. But what happens is, we try to self righteously earn God’s favor or forgiveness ourselves.
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Pastor Jared Hacking
Excerpt taken from “God the Son’s Role in the Story of Grace”
Video Transcript:
Jesus has redeemed us. Jesus is interceding for us. And third, what he will do, Jesus will restore us. Verse 11 says, We have obtained an inheritance in Jesus.
The restoration is partial now, but one day will be fully complete. 1 Corinthians 13, 12 says, For now we see only as a reflection, as in a mirror. Then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part, then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. We live right now in a state of already, not yet. We have been redeemed, purchased by Jesus, has made it so we no longer have to be slaves to sin, but we can actually resist sin, yet we are still wrestling with our flesh, right?
The price has been paid. Jesus, by His power of resurrection, has actually given us the ability to resist sin. He’s given us the ability to say no to sin. Before Christ, before, in Ephesians, it actually talks about, In chapter two, it says, you were dead in your trespasses. You were dead in the trespasses of your sin.
You were dead, separated from God, enslaved to sin. Now that we are in Christ Jesus, we’ve been redeemed by Christ Jesus through his resurrection. He has given us resurrection power over our sin to actually say, No, to actually say no to our sin. And some of you know this in your life, through your process of sanctification and getting closer to God over years, sin that you used to have an issue with or whatever.
You’re like, you know, that used to be an issue and God’s just taking that from me and as real as that is, You know, it’s just as real that this is a partial restoration right now that we are still wrestling. I am still wrestling with my flesh, right? I’m still wrestling with, do I really need the second and third donut?
Right? I’m not like, oh, yeah, that’s an easy answer for me. No, it’s a still wrestling that if I’m going to choose myself, my selfishness, my flesh, or am I going to choose God’s way for me in my life? But this is future sense that He will restore us fully. We’ll be, one day we’ll be fully dead to sin and fully alive in Christ.
When we are fully raised with Christ in the fullness of His glory in His presence. Not only will Jesus fully restore us, but he will actually fully restore all of creation. Romans 8 21 says that creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
Creation is groaning as we groan with it to be fully glorified in Jesus. The accomplisher, Jesus Christ, will one day make all things Right again, right? This is a already not yet. We’re dead to sin, but one day we’re gonna be fully dead to sin. We’re alive in Christ, but one day we’re gonna stand in the fullness of his presence.
This is something that should give us hope. This is something that we should long for, that Jesus the Accomplisher will one day fully restore us. This may have been new to you this morning. This may have been, reviewed for you this morning. But I just want to talk about how we respond to the Son’s role in the story of grace, right?
Because it’s, it’s great to know things, but how do we respond to the Son’s role? And first I want to talk about how we shouldn’t respond, but often how we do respond. I think in one way we respond to the Son’s story of grace is legalism. I think in one way we respond to the Son’s story of grace is legalism.
Right. My definition of legalism, you’ve never heard that term. Term is, is, is trying to pay for something that’s already been paid for. The Pharisees were guilty of this, right? They would see God’s law as this circle, these are God’s commandments. And then they draw a smaller circle and say, you know, if you, if you do these things, you’re even a, a better Christian.
You’re even holier, you’re even more righteous, right? But legalism is trying to pay for something that’s already been paid for. Like we just went over earlier, it was the perfect work of Jesus Christ that redeems us. Nothing we can do ourselves. But what happens is, we try to self righteously earn God’s favor or forgiveness ourselves.
I remember Many, many times in college, and I was just, I was wrestling, and I had a period of, of, of wandering, and I was just, I was messing up a lot, and whenever I’d mess up a lot, and just do something that I knew I shouldn’t have done, and, and, and I was regretting, I’d get so guilty, and I’d get, I’d start feeling condemnation, and I knew that what I did was a sin against God, I knew He wanted me to repent of these things, I knew all these things, But I wouldn’t go to him.
I wouldn’t pray. I want to open up my Bible and read it because in my mind I believe I got to clean myself up a little bit before I can appear before God Almighty, right? I got to clean myself up. I got I got a button my shirt I got to do all these things just so I can get into his presence again. So I would literally I would literally try to live out, like, two, three, four days of righteousness.
Like, this is a real thing. And I wouldn’t read my Bible because that was going into the presence of God. I couldn’t do that. So I’d try to live out. I’d try to be kind. I’d try to be loving. I’d try to do my homework on time. I’d try to do all these things. And then I would come at the end of that day, three or four, and I’d beg God for His forgiveness.
I’d beg God, please take me back. Please, please help me repent of these things. I was believing a false gospel. I was believing a false gospel. God the Father was waiting. Jesus Christ was waiting with arms open saying, Son, please return to me. He wanted me to turn from my sin. He wanted me to repent of my sin.
But he was saying, Please come into my presence again now. Don’t wait. The price has been paid. It’s accomplished already. Legalism is like trying to earn your dinner when someone just paid for your dinner. Right? You’re at a restaurant. Someone says, yo, I got this. You’re arguing over the bill. And they say, no, I got it.
Don’t worry. I got it. You’re like, okay. And then you get up from the table and you go back to the kitchen staff. You’re like, hey guys, you mind if I just wash a couple dishes? They’re like, why? They’re like, I just want to pay for my meal. I just want to, I just want to earn a couple of wages so I can pay for the meal.
And they said, sir, your, your bill’s been covered. Yeah, well, maybe I can just mop the floors or sweep the floors. Or you have any toilets I could clean? Is there, is there something I could do that would pay for my bill? And they said, sir, your bill’s already been paid for. You’re free to go. Legalism is trying to earn your dinner when someone’s already been paid for.
Legalism focuses on what we can do for God and loses sight of what God has already done for us. Legalism is arguing with Jesus and telling him his sacrifice wasn’t enough.
Hebrews 9 24 through 26 says this, As for Christ has entered not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself. Now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own.
For then he would had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Jesus sacrifice is the perfect one and done sacrifice. There’s no need for any more atonement. There’s no need for any more payment.
The work is finished. This is different than any other form of religion. Any other religion says, what can you do to appease that God? Christianity says, Jesus has done the work, just receive it. You see the difference in that? The work has been paid for. Don’t cheapen his sacrifice. The opposite side of this spectrum of legalism is a fancy word I learned in college.
I did retain some things from college. It’s called antinomianism. It’s a fancy word that literally means no laws, right? This is the belief that since God covers us and the price has been paid and grace covers us, let’s do whatever we want, whenever we want. This is no better than legalism. This is cheapening the sacrifice of Christ as an excuse to do what we want.
You may have heard some of your friends talk like this before. Well, the Bible says we just need to have faith. You know, yeah, yeah, I believe in Jesus, but so what if I get drunk? So what if I watch porn? So what if I scream at my wife? So what if I flip people off in traffic? So what? It’s all covered by the grace of God.
In the book of James, he says, Faith without works is dead. It’s not real. Jesus didn’t die so that you could have an excuse to sin. He died and rose again so we could have power to resist sin and turn to him. Good works don’t save you. But real faith bears fruit. I think this is perfectly summed up in Ephesians two, eight through 10.
It says, for by grace you have been saved through faith and this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not a result of works so that no one may boast for we are his workmanship. Create it in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Good works don’t save us, but we, who were created in Christ Jesus for good works, that we should walk in them.
And we can’t even take credit or boast for these good works, because it says God prepared them beforehand. He already prepared and went ahead of us and prepared them for us, right? This is no better than legalism. It’s cheapening the sacrifice of Jesus. I don’t know where you are this morning, but my prayer for this sermon was that all who heard it would come to a deeper understanding, a deeper knowledge of what Jesus did for you.
My hope is that we wouldn’t sway to either side of the spectrum, but we would stop trying to do things for God. And embrace what he’s already done for us. Jesus accomplished us. Jesus accomplished it for us so that we could live it out with him. My hope is that we would do all things to the praise of his glory.
That we’d embrace the perfect work of Jesus Christ and live it out.