Sermon Cloud

GRACE UNCOVERED 20

"Grace and Peace"

August 10, 2008

Kevin Hale - EPC

Galatians 6:11-18

¹¹See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand! ¹²As many as desire to make a good showing in the flesh, these would compel you to be circumcised, only that they may not suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. ¹³For not even those who are circumcised keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. ¹⁴But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, ^£by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. ¹⁵For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation.

¹⁶And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.

¹⁷From now on let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.

¹⁸Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

Review the book for moment ending with the fact that some years later they had been confused about how to live out the Christian life. Pagans - Turkey - false teachers etc.

To become a part of the true believers you had to but culturally Jewish.

Paul answers the question - How does a person become right with God and stay right with God?

• The Gospel is more than following the teachings of Jesus.

It says that there is nothing that you can do to get you right or keep you right with God.  You are declared righteous by faith alone in Christ alone.

• The cross is the only way we can be made right with God.
• The Spirit is the only way we can be kept right.

He warned that anything other than Christ is another gospel or really no gospel.  The deception came when they were told to keep rules to be spiritual.

One was asked what made a great sermon.  Have great beginning and great ending and short middle.

¹¹Now, in these last sentences, I want to emphasize in the bold scrawls of my personal handwriting the immense importance of what I have written to you. ¹²These people who are attempting to force the ways of circumcision on you have only one motive: They want an easy way to look good before others, lacking the courage to live by a faith that shares Christ's suffering and death. All their talk about the law is gas. ¹³They themselves don't keep the law! And they are highly selective in the laws they do observe. They only want you to be circumcised so they can boast of their success in recruiting you to their side. That is contemptible!

¹⁴For my part, I am going to boast about nothing but the Cross of our Master, Jesus Christ. Because of that Cross, I have been crucified in relation to the world, set free from the stifling atmosphere of pleasing others and fitting into the little patterns that they dictate. ¹⁵Can't you see the central issue in all this? It is not what you and I do-submit to circumcision, reject circumcision. It is what God is doing, and he is creating something totally new, a free life! ¹⁶All who walk by this standard (rule) are the true Israel of God (to Paul these are all who come to faith by Christ)-his chosen people. Peace and mercy on them!

¹⁷Quite frankly, I don't want to be bothered anymore by these disputes. I have far more important things to do-the serious living of this faith. I bear in my body scars from my service to Jesus.

¹⁸May what our Master Jesus Christ gives freely be deeply and personally yours, my friends. Oh, yes!

Now I asked Scot to look this up for me.  Paul used Grace and Peace to begin all of his letters and ends in some form of this grace and peace or mercy or grace to you or grace be with you.  He opens with grace and closes with peace.

What would happen if we lived together with grace and peace as the heart of our relationship.  Today we say stuff that means nothing.  Pray a hedge or travel mercies etc.  Pray for safety simply.  Wurmbrand would enter our house grace and peace and leave the same way.

Paul means this when he writes it.  Why?  It describes the experience of the gospel.

We have received grace so we have peace and it must be in that order.

GRACE

Grace is the Greek word Charis from cairo and verb that means to rejoice.

Now I understand that the normal greeting in that day would be Charin and it means greetings.

Paul used Charis and they would have noticed the depth of that changed.

Now some say (GRACE) it should be translated joy - pleasure - delight - acceptance - favor - peace.

A favor with no expectation in return.  God's riches at Christ's expenses GRACE.  That is very true as well.

God's unmerited eternal generosity and goodness to people who do not deserve it and never will deserve it.

Zodiates - Grace is the absolute free expression of the love of God finding its only motive in the bounty and benevolence of God.

Grace to you and multiplied to you with favor and nothing in return.

PEACE

PEACE - shalom.  Now Paul is using the standard Greek greeting with a small change and the standard Hebrew greeting Shalom.

It means harmony and tranquility.  Every kind of good that God has to give and all but one time it is used for NOW not something in the future.

We are to experience peace right now and we are to live in peace with one another.

Jesus is enough but we live like what we do for Him is more important.

Paul was serious about keeping the gospel free from anything that would change it.

He bears in his body the scars. He writes from prison and he knows he will die because of all of this.  He still writes words that describe every form of goodness to you.

Ill. Wurmbrand before the Senate - You will have scars.

How is it possible to pray grace and peace to others when you are in the middle of like ending circumstances?

Ill.  Tim White and I laughing about our situations in light of Paul's.  Go to Paul and ask Him what he thinks.

Ps. 112: 7,8

    The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance.

⁷    He will not be afraid of evil tidings;

    His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.

⁸    His heart is established;

    He will not be afraid,

Grace and Peace define Paul's life to the point he experiences this reality in the Psalm.

Paul is praying a speaking Grace to Peace to all of his friends.  How about you?  This is the main way we are to relate to each other and with God.

He reminded them that the gospel is about what Jesus did not from what they are doing.  It was all a gift of grace not being a good person.

• If you lose the truth of the gospel then you will not live in the grace and peace of the gospel.

So Paul is being attacked by these teachers and they wanted to destroy him.  In chapter 4 he says... "have I become you enemy for telling you the truth."

What would it be like if in this church that you lived so much in  grace and peace that you would be able to forgive and live and do good to those that have hurt you  and lied about you and left you hanging.

What if you were so full of the Spirit and so in touch with grace and peace that you could love those that deserted you and rejected you?

Now that is being ALIVE as Paul sees it.   GRACE AND PEACE.

Ill.  Is there anyone that you cannot speak grace and peace to their face? 

Why not ask God to give you that grace and peace.  Why not stop right now before things really turned bad and you say things and do things that will hurt your relationship with your family and church?

Next time someone begins to put down and spread discord and gossip you lovingly say wait wait wait  " Grace and Peace to you.

What does grace and peace look like right now and what would Paul say to this right now.

Romans 8:1 ¹There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus,^£ who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit

When you put yourself down and condemn yourself to simply stop and say I am not condemned.

Get rid of that guilt - we have his grace and peace.  It is not about how good I am.  Grace and peace is from God to you.

He has gifted a new life to us by grace and peace. 

What happen if we began and ended every conversation and meeting with Grace and peace.

Our God is a God of order and peace and truth a freedom Gal. 5:22.

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.  Strength under control not weakness.

We can think outside the Spirit and we need to recognize that wrong thinking.  When we are with Him we will then begin to experience the fruit of the Spirit in community with each other.

We are to be and speak God's peace to each other.  Others are to see it and they will come to it.

When we are tempted to walk in the flesh we all need to speak grace and peace to each other.

Take all of the stuff and hurts and disappointments in the past and leave it there and move on.  Today is a new day.  Only your choices can mess it up.

Choose Grace and Peace. 

• Speak GRACE AND PEACE into the lives of those around you.

I have made this a new day for me. Grace and Peace to everyone here.

Grace to you and Grace with you.  Piper...Why begin with grace to you and the end with grace with you?

The Words go with you after the letter is put away.   Just like the Lord goes with you after our time together here.

We are to be people of the Word and the Spirit.

Let's put flesh and blood to the grace of God.  Live in the peace of God.

Let's go and make much of the gospel of the grace of God in our everyday lives.  Do not let it become just a word like all of the other "Christian" words.  But sign off Grace and peace and then pray it before you send it so it will not become a prayer before a meal stuff.  Multipy grace and peace to them.

READ PAUL'S benediction.

¹⁸May what our Master Jesus Christ gives freely be deeply and personally yours, my friends. Oh, yes!

May he grant to you grace and peace in the days to come.