John  1_14-18      Give the Gift of Grace

Rev. David Holwick  ZL                        Questions People Ask series

First Baptist Church                                    (Lea Keen)

Ledgewood, New Jersey                            

December 15, 2002

John 1:14-18


GIVE THE GIFT OF GRACE



  I. Christmas is a time of giving.

      A. Holwick family - only gifts will be ski passes.

          1) Then Celeste sees something for Josiah.

                Wouldn't he love it?

             Josiah gets a ski pass and something else.

          2) No word yet on what extra gift the FATHER will get.


      B. From moment Magi arrived, Christmas is associated with gifts.

          1) Something that is given out of love or friendship.

          2) It is chosen by the giver, not earned by the givee.

              a) We might be tempted to hint or beg, but once we "earn"

                    it, the gift becomes a wage.              Romans 4:4


II. The best Christmas gift, of course, is Jesus himself.

      A. He gives us salvation by his death on the cross.

          1) Jesus was truly "born to die."


      B. More: Jesus reveals God's character to us in its clearest form.

          1) We cannot see God except by what we see in Jesus.

          2) As John says, Jesus was full of grace and truth.       1:17

              a) Our God has no lie in him, only absolute truth.

              b) Our God is a gracious God, willing to give.


III. The grace of Jesus stands out.

      A. Jesus and other religions.


         During a British conference on comparative religions, experts

            debated what, if any, belief was unique to Christianity.

         They began eliminating possibilities.

         Incarnation?  Other religions had different versions of gods

            appearing in human form.

         Resurrection?  Again, other religions had accounts of return

            from the dead.


         The debate went on for some time until C. S. Lewis wandered

            into the room.

         "What's the rumpus about?" he asked, and heard in reply that

            his colleagues were discussing Christianity's unique

               contribution among world religions.

         Lewis responded, "Oh, that's easy.  It's grace."


         After some discussion, the others had to agree.

         The notion of God's love coming to us free of charge, no strings

            attached, seems to go against every instinct of humanity.

         The Buddhist eight-fold path, the Hindu doctrine of Karma, the

            Jewish covenant, and the Muslim code of law - each of these

               offers a way to earn approval.

         Only Christianity dares to make God's love unconditional.

                                                                   #10903


      B. Jesus taught grace in his parables.

          1) The Prodigal Son, who blows his inheritance and crawls

                home only to be welcomed with a party.

          2) The Wedding Banquet, where the guests don't come so the

                masters invites all the derelicts in town.


           In 1990 a young well-off couple in Boston planned their

              wedding.

           They made a $7,500 deposit to reserve their reception at the

              Hyatt Hotel and finished all the other details.

           At the last minute the groom had cold feet and backed out of

              the wedding.

           Heartbroken, the bride went to the Hyatt to cancel the

              reception, only to be told the deposit was non-refundable.


           The bride decided to have the reception anyway and just threw

              open the doors.

           She invited the rescue missions and homeless shelters.

           She made a slight change in the menu to boneless chicken - in

              honor of the groom!


           This reception was so unusual the Boston Globe did an

              extensive article on it.

           Grace has a way of getting people's attention!

                                                                   #10948


          3) The Workers in the Vineyard, where those who are hired for

                one hour, and those who work for a whole day, get the

                   same wage.


                You can relate to this...

                Let's say you have been laboring at your job for ten

                   years and have inched up the pay scale.

                Then they hire someone brand-new and they give him the

                   same pay as you get now.

                How would you react?

                You would say, "What a privilege it is to work at such

                   a grace-filled place!"

                Riiight!


              a) We have a problem with that.

              b) We have a problem with grace.


IV. Grace is weird.

      A. Our world is not a gracious place.

          1) Think of Israel and the Palestinians.

              a) Jews have consistent policy - attack us, we attack you.

              b) Houses destroyed, leaders blown up.

              c) After 9-11, we can empathize.  But where does it end?

          2) When grace conflicts with justice, we prefer justice.

              a) (at least, if we are the injured party)

              b) Forgiveness seems too pat, too unfair.


      B. To be honest, the Church itself is not a very gracious place.

          1) Hemingway's grace-less family.


             Ernest Hemingway's grandparents attended the same

                Evangelical college I did - Wheaton.

             His parents were also very devout Christians.

             Ernest rebelled and his parents detested his wild lifestyle.

                After a time his mother wouldn't let him in her presence.


             One year for his birthday, she mailed him a cake along with

                the gun his father had used to kill himself.

             Another year she wrote him a letter explaining that a

                mother's life is like a bank account.

             Every child that is born to her makes withdrawals but no

                deposits during all the early years.

             Later, when the child grows up, it is his responsibility to

                replenish the supply he has drawn down.


             Hemingway's mother then proceeded to spell out all the

                specific ways Ernest should be making "deposits to keep

                   the account in good standing":

                flowers, fruit or candy, paying some of her bills, and

                   a pledge to stop neglecting his duties to God.


             Hemingway never got over his hatred for his mother - or for

                her Savior.

             Her ungracious faith had killed his.

                                                                   #10951


          2) The world does not associate us with grace.

              a) Church in West Lafayette has a warning poster in the

                    kitchen - don't do this or that.

              b) We condemn sinners, but don't help them out.

                  1> Think of the Culture Wars where religion battles

                        in political arena.

                  2> My friend John Hanford, director of religious

                        freedom department for U.S. government.

                     He proposed a bill that some evangelical leaders

                        had a problem with.

                     They savaged him.

                     It truly hurt him that Christians could be so mean.

              c) We pat ourselves on the back, but do we deserve it?


  V. Grace versus the Law.

      A. John makes a contrast between Jesus and Moses.              1:17

          1) There is certainly continuity between the two, but also

                a big difference.

          2) Or at least there should be...


      B. Moses brought the Law.

          1) We still have a warm spot for it.

          2) Note Judge Moore and Ten Commandments controversy in

                Alabama.

          3) Legalism - do's and don'ts - is based on the Law.


      C. Jesus brings Grace instead.

          1) We are not conforming to rules but molding ourselves

                to a Savior.

          2) If you eliminate the cross, do you end up with the same

                religion?  If so, it is not genuine Christianity.


VI. Christians should be full of grace.

      A. We can receive a lot of grace.

          1) Fullness of his grace gives us endless blessings.       1:16

          2) Think of the many times you have been forgiven by God.

              a) Anything and anybody can be forgiven.

              b) Even Jeffrey Dahmer - the cannibal killer - became a

                    Christian just before he was murdered in prison!

                 He was baptized in the prison whirlpool and spent all

                    his time reading religious material.

                 Many people doubt his religious change - he had gone

                    through religious periods before and during his

                       murderous spree as well - but what if it was true?

                 If he was sincere in his conversion, he is in heaven

                    right now.

                 And Jesus can forgive you, too.

                                                                   #10955

          3) Remember the material blessings you enjoy.


      B. We can give a lot of grace.

          1) Cut them some slack.

              a) Be willing to forgive those who wrong you.

              b) Remember that not forgiving only hurts you.

          2) Give them what they don't deserve.

              a) I know of families that use the inheritance as a weapon.

                  1> You are in the will, or cut out of it.

                  2> Multiple times!

              b) Instead, be generous to the undeserving.

                  1> God sends his rain on the just and unjust.

          3) Give them what they don't expect.

              a) Christians can give lavishly and not expect results.

              b) Deacons' fund - we never ask people to pay back.

              c) Best way to give - secretly.


      C. Grace is what will make you distinctive.

          1) Your giving of it, or your lack of it.

          2) Grace in the midst of carnage.


             In 1987 an IRA bomb went off in a small town in Northern

                Ireland, among a group of Protestants who had gathered

                   to honor the war dead on veterans Day.

             Eleven people died and 63 were wounded.


             What made this act of terrorism stand out from so many

                others was the response of one of the wounded, Gordon

                    Wilson, a devout Methodist.

             The bomb buried Wilson and his 20-year-old daughter under

                five feet of concrete and brick.

             "Daddy, I love you very much," were the last words Marie

                spoke, grasping her father's hand as they waited for

                   the rescuers.

             She suffered severe spinal and brain injuries, and died

                a few hours later in the hospital.


             A newspaper later proclaimed, "No one remembers what the

                politicians had to say at that time.

             No one who heard Gordon Wilson will ever forget what he

                confessed....

             His grace towered over the miserable justifications of the

                 bombers."


             Speaking from his hospital bed, Wilson said, "I have lost

                my daughter, but I bear no grudge.

             Bitter talk is not going to bring Marie Wilson back to

                life.

             I shall pray, tonight and every night, that God will

                forgive them."

             After his release from the hospital, Gordon Wilson led a

                crusade for Protestant-Catholic reconciliation.

             Protestant extremists who had planned to avenge the bombing

                decided, because of the publicity surrounding Wilson,

                   that such behavior would be politically foolish.

             Wilson spoke out against violence and constantly repeated

                the refrain, "Love is the bottom line."


             The Irish Republic ultimately made Wilson a member of its

                Senate.

             When he died in 1995, all of Ireland and Great Britain

                honored this ordinary Christian citizen for his

                   uncommon spirit of grace and forgiveness.

                                                                   #10956


VII. When given to you, grace must be received.

      A. It is not automatic but requires a decision to accept it.

      B. Accept grace from others.

      C. Accept salvation from Jesus.



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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:


This sermon was inspired by a question from a member of my congregation

but much of the material comes from Philip Yancey's excellent book

"What's So Amazing About Grace?" (Zondervan: Grand Rapids, MI. 1997).

Illustration titles are given to Yancey's stories by Holwick.


#10903  "Grace Makes Christianity Unique," by Philip Yancey, in "What's

           So Amazing About Grace?", 1997, page 41; adapted by David

           Holwick.


#10948  "A Non-Wedding Reception With Boneless Chicken," by Philip

           Yancey, ibid., p. 43; adapted by David Holwick.


#10951  "Hemingway's Ungracious Evangelical Mother," by Philip Yancey,

           ibid., p. 34; adapted by David Holwick.


#10955  "Dahmer's Prison Conversion," by Philip Yancey, ibid., p. 87;

           adapted by David Holwick.


#10956  "Grace In the Midst of Carnage," by Philip Yancey, ibid.,

           pp. 108-9; adapted by David Holwick.


These and 23,000 others are part of a database that can be downloaded,

absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html

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