The Discipline of Grace

I was out early on a cold Sunday morning three weeks ago, running down at the National Park.

I was only thinking about one thing.

Why?

Why am I up on such a cold morning going for a run?

Instead of being in bed with my fingers freezing off, that warm shower was beckoning to me.

But something was disciplining me to endure.

Discipline is what trains or corrects our behavior.

And the only thing that was disciplining me to go faster and to run was to run faster than my father.

My dad, who is 28 years older than me, has always been faster than me.

And it's driven me to train at the gym, down at the track in the National Park.

And two weeks ago, I finally beat my father's PB.

I'm faster than him by seven seconds at the moment.

Now I've got my sights set on something higher, something a little bit more improbable, beating Steve Jeffrey himself.

We'll see if we can get there.

I'm going to need a lot of discipline to get there.

But we're all disciplined by a variety of things.

It could be the desire for coffee to get out of bed in the morning.

It could be the desire for money and success to work hard.

But just like my desire to run, it can swing in and out of season.

One day we might be very motivated to work hard.

The next day we are motivated by a desire for leisure.

What is it that disciplines us to obey God?

What teaches and corrects our behavior following God?

We want to be good people who are honest and patient and generous, not thieves, not someone who bullies others,

not someone who destroys other people's character or hurts people.

But what disciplines and corrects us to behave like God?

If you're anything like me, your discipline following God swings, just like my pursuit of running.

Would it be true that some days it can seem great?

You know, you might get up early, you read your Bible, you spend some time meditating and praying with God,

and then you feel all day like everything just clicks.

And pursuing holiness, it just happens.

You get to share Jesus with someone.

But then some days it feels like a nightmare.

You don't sleep well, you wake up late.

You don't have time for God.

You don't have time to read the Bible and pray and meditate.

You snap at the kids, you kick the dog, you get angry with people at work,

and you feel far from God all day.

We can feel the gap between those two days,

and we can just feel that we need to work harder, motivated by different things.

But the truth of the gospel is that we are saved by God's grace,

and it is God's grace that continues to train us.

There's a quote from a book called Disciplines of Grace by Jerry Bridges.

He has this quote,

Our worst days are never so bad that we are beyond the reach of God's grace,

and our best days are never so good that we are beyond the need of God's grace.

We are never beyond the reach of God's grace.

Our bad days are never that bad that we're too far from God,

and our good days are never so good that we don't need God's grace.

And this is the place that we find ourselves in as we start a new series,

Disciplined by Grace.

And we're going to see that it is within God's grace,

God's unearned, undeserved love for us,

that we are trained and corrected.

But we're also going to look at the things that we substitute in

to try and motivate ourselves to obey God.

So let me pray for us as we come to God's word.

Heavenly Father, thank you so much that we can be gathered today,

treasuring you together,

and that we get to sit around your word.

God, give us ears to hear,

so we can understand what motivates us to follow you.

Amen.

Let me read from Ephesians chapter 2.

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

It says,

For it is by grace you have been saved,

through faith.

And this is not from yourselves,

it is the gift of God.

Not by works,

so that no one can boast.

We are saved by God's grace,

his unearned, undeserved love.

And we don't do anything to be saved.

As Nick mentioned before,

he just put his hand up,

realizing his need.

But then,

we start to learn what a Christian is supposed to be.

We read parts of the Bible,

like Galatians 5,

where we see the fruit of the Spirit is love,

joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness.

And we're supposed to show these things.

And we go,

we have these lists that make us forget

that we're saved by God's undeserved,

unearned grace.

And our behavior becomes a priority.

We might be measuring ourselves

against other Christians

to give us a sense of understanding

how we're going.

Oh, I'm sinning less than him.

I'm better off than her.

God must be happy with me.

He must be happy with what I'm doing

because I've pegged myself against someone else.

Our view of ourselves goes from God's view

and it changes based on our performance.

I think it ultimately comes from a good place

where we have a desire to do the right thing.

People who are Christians want to follow and obey God

and to pursue holiness.

But we easily make God's things

things that we can achieve on our own.

Let's see what should be motivating us

to pursue God

from Titus chapter 2, verse 11.

Titus 2:11

For the grace of God has appeared

that offers salvation to everyone.

Grace.

Grace has appeared.

God's unearned, undeserved love has appeared

and his name is Jesus.

His death and resurrection offers us salvation.

We can have forgiveness and friendship with God

not because of us

but because salvation is a free gift.

God doesn't start the work of salvation

and then say,

off you go.

Good luck.

Try really hard to follow me, okay?

But now you're on your own.

He still actively works.

Spiritual growth is not our initiative.

It is God's.

And he keeps working in us

through his undeserved and unearned grace.

God is the one who has given us his Holy Spirit

so that we can read his word, the Bible,

and actually listen to it

so that we can hear him speak.

So from Hebrews chapter 12,

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

which was read for us,

it says that the Lord disciplines the one he loves

and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.

Endure hardships as discipline

because God is treating you as his children.

For what children are not disciplined by their father?

Discipline is whatever God chooses to use

to grow us in godliness.

Like a parent teaching and correcting,

the difference is a child will grow up.

A child will grow up and become an adult.

But we, as God's children,

never arrive fully formed this side of heaven.

We continue to be God's children

who are in need of teaching and training.

He has saved us,

but he doesn't want us to stay like we are.

He wants to change us to fit heaven

and it's a sign that he loves us.

God's discipline is a positive thing

because he loves us.

And now God has a magnitude of options

to choose how he's going to train and rebuke us.

He uses his word as we read it

and it's wonderful to see that our kids

love reading God's word.

He might be nudging us

or pushing us to obey him from his word.

It could be preaching like this.

It could be the words of someone

in your community group.

It could be a friend.

God knows exactly what we need

at any given point.

And our response to God's discipline

should be obedience and trust.

But we don't pursue God.

We don't pursue holiness

and being like God on our own.

We don't do it to remain in God's kingdom

once he saves us.

But God himself teaches us

and trains us to obey him.

It's called sanctification.

Sanctification is being made holy.

It's God doing his work in us

making us like him.

And it's not that he's changing us

because he's angry with us.

He's not upset like a parent might be

when they see a child behaving the wrong way

and they snap at them.

His salvation for us

and his sanctification

are both works of his grace.

His unearned and undeserved love.

God's discipline in our lives

and the desire to pursue God

is a gift.

We can't pursue him on our own

and without his help

we can do nothing to please him.

Paul continues in Titus 2, verse 12.

Titus 2:12

God's grace teaches us

to say no to ungodliness

and worldly passions

and to live self-controlled,

upright and godly lives

in this present age.

Paul says that not only

does God's grace save us

and bring us into his family,

his grace is our teacher.

It teaches us to say no

and it teaches us to say yes.

No to disregarding God.

No for ignoring him

and taking him for granted.

And God's grace teaches us

to say yes to self-control,

to uprightness,

to godliness.

Godliness.

And these three terms,

godliness,

uprightness and self-control,

they reflect how we

take care of ourselves,

how we respond to others

and how we respond to God.

God takes us,

a people who are stuck

in darkness,

the place where we are

unable to obey God,

stumbling around,

hurting one another,

and he offers us salvation.

He brings us into his

marvelous light,

into his kingdom,

where we can see who Jesus

really is and see who we are.

But when we change teams,

when we go from the dominion

of darkness to the dominion

of light,

we come over with

a lot of old habits.

We come over with

a lot of bad habits,

a lot of old ways

of doing things.

There's a really old movie

called Pretty Woman.

Has anybody seen the movie

Pretty Woman?

The movie came out in 1990,

so that's going to date you

a little bit.

In this movie,

Pretty Woman,

there's a high-flying businessman

played by Richard Gere,

and he pulls a woman

off the street

to pretend to be his girlfriend.

It's not a very wholesome movie,

but it's useful

for this illustration.

They're totally mismatched socially.

One is from the top end

of society,

one is from the very bottom,

but he invites her in,

he gives her his credit cards,

and she goes off shopping,

and very soon,

she looks like the top end

of society.

She's looking like

the best of 80s fashion.

This was only 1990,

so the outfits are terrible.

She looks the part.

She looks like she should fit in,

but she doesn't know

how to act the part.

She still has the bad habits

of where she's come from,

the bottom end of society.

She doesn't speak the same way.

She doesn't know how to use

the right cutlery

at the fancy dinner table.

She's gone from the bottom

to the top,

but she still has the bad habits

of where she's come from.

And there's a process,

and this is the joy of the movie

as we see her transformed.

This kind of thing,

it's not that different for us.

God has plucked us

from being his enemies,

and he has taken us

to the very top of society,

God's children.

But we bring a whole lot

of bad habits with us.

Sinful practices,

ways of speech,

unhelpful,

ungodly attitudes.

But God trains us himself.

And it's not to keep us

in the kingdom of God.

It is because God

has brought us into his family

that he is fitting us

to obey

and to be part of his family.

He's showing us

what it is like

to be in his family.

And this is a wonderful joy,

brothers and sisters,

that God disciplines us

and doesn't leave us

with our bad habits

that hurt ourselves

and hurt other people.

The desire to pursue God

and be like him

is all his gift.

And when we remember this,

it protects us.

Knowing the place

of God's discipline

protects us

from setting

our own discipline

and attempting

to follow God

motivated by the wrong thing.

We're going to see

three things

that might be

motivators for you

to obey God.

Three things

that might motivate us

and discipline us

in the wrong way

to obey God.

The first one is that

we can be disciplined

by debt.

1 Corinthians 6.20

says that

you were bought

for a price.

Jesus

has paid a price

for us

to be brought into heaven.

He paid for our sins

dying on the cross

and this is

wonderfully true

and we are saved.

And because of this

we are in debt

to God

but God's gift

of salvation

is our free gift.

We can't pay back

this gift.

It is a real problem

for a Christian

or for a person

to try and pay back

this debt

to God

and to be disciplined

by debt.

Motivated to perform

so well

to pay back God

thinking

God has done

so much for me

I have sinned

so much

and yet he has

forgiven me

so much

by Jesus' blood

I owe him so much

so do you know what

I'm going to obey

really hard

I'm going to pay

him back

because I am in

so much debt

and I am going to be

good enough

for Jesus' sacrifice.

In Filipino culture

there is a concept

if I can get my

Tagalog right

correct me

utang na la ob

how is this

for my Tagalogs

because that's okay

yes

utang na la ob

in Filipino culture

it's this concept

called the debt

of volition

it's this idea

that you are in

someone's debt

as long as you live

and if someone

gives you something

and places you

in their debt

you don't know

how to measure

this amount of debt

that you are in

and you might

never know

if you have paid

this debt back

can you imagine

being in debt

to someone

and you have no idea

where you stand

with them

and it creates

a relationship

that is dependent

and you just

are always

unsure

do I need to

keep doing

what they ask me

do I keep

paying them back

and this idea

of being in debt

to others

it's a danger

for us

if that's how

we respond to God

we can easily

think of God

with a relationship

in terms of debt

we can focus

on what he's done

in the past

and now what I

have to do

obeying him

as a form

of repayment

being motivated

to be holy

to pay back

God

is impossible

because we're never

going to pay

that debt back

if you're anything

like me

with the amount

I sin throughout

the day

this is not a

close and

intimate relationship

it's not a

healthy relationship

with God

and it only

takes part

of the gospel

into account

it focuses

on the

slave and

master relationship

and not the

parent child

relationship

with God

when we're

disciplined

by God's grace

and not

by debt

we're reminded

that we can't

pay back

God

we can't

pay back

God

for the

sin we've

committed

and the sins

we will

commit

but he has

forgiven them

as an act

of grace

for some

it might be

easier to think

about our

relationship with

God like

duty

so we can be

disciplined

by a sense

of duty

to follow

God

maybe we've

come from

a family

system

that's all

about

obligations

and expectations

and this is

how you must

obey

as a child

of this

family

this is what

you are to

do

and these

are the

expectations

you're a

barnet

and this is

what a

barnet does

this is the

university you

have to go

to

this is the

job you

have to

have

and if

you fail

you shame

this family

and you let

us all down

everyone does

their duty

and the family

works

God has

done his

duty providing

for us

and we

are bound

to respond

with obedience

so we can be

disciplined by a

sense of duty

to follow God

God again is a

master in this

situation and we

have to obey

it makes our

pursuit of

holiness

a legal

obligation that

we have to

carry out

devoid of

love and

mercy and

intimacy

again we

are responsible

we do have

a duty to

obey God

he is our

master

but if that's

where it

stops

if it's

devoid of

grace

his

unearned and

undeserved

love

then being

disciplined by a

sense of duty

or obligation

is just going to

lay a burden on

our shoulders

that we can

never lift

if we're

disciplined by

duty

it will

eventually turn

into a

worship of

God that is

based on

our works

God's

teaching and

instruction is

done within a

relationship

one where Jesus

has fulfilled

every legal

responsibility and

obligation

and we reap

the rewards of

what Jesus has

done

so we can be

disciplined by

a sense of

duty we can be

disciplined

by a debt

to him

and lastly

we can be

disciplined by

doubt

unsure of

whether Jesus'

death was

really sufficient

doubting that

really God

does God

really love

me

I'm not

sure

and so I'm

going to cover

my bases with

obedience

I'm going to

make sure that

I'm in God's

good books by

doing everything

I can

I'm going to

try and tip

the balance

you know

there's my

sins

there's

Jesus'

work

and just to

make sure

this side is

heavier

I'm going to

put my works

on top of

Jesus'

as if that

were possible

trying to

give God

every reason

on top of

what Jesus

has done

to let me

into his

family

I can imagine

doing something

like this in

my work before

ministry

where you know

around this

time of year

was when we

had the pay

increases

and so you

know it was

always trying

to be on

best behaviour

you know

get to

work early

leave late

after the

boss has

left

I try and

look as

good as

possible

I'm always

working really

hard when

he was around

just to make

sure that the

boss had no

doubt in his

mind that I

was one of

the hard

workers

but if we're

disciplined by

doubt we

run the risk

of forgetting

the gospel

our anxiety

and our worry

becomes bigger

than God's

grace

his undeserved

and unearned

love

that there

is nothing

we can do

at all to

earn his

forgiveness

and yet he

gives it

anyway

there is

nothing we

can do to

get his

approval

yet Jesus'

blood wipes

away our

sin and

makes us

approved

before God

if we are

pursuing holiness

and obedience

to God

with a sense

of doubt

let me

encourage you

to come back

to the heart

of the gospel

that you

are loved

even though

you are

unlovely

you are

forgiven

even though

you do

not deserve

it

imagine

you hop on

the metro

later today

the metro is

full

it's pumping

and unfortunately

it crashes

and everyone

on that train

goes to heaven

and everyone

rushes off

that train

to head

to God

and to get

into heaven

and start

the feast

it's a terrible

accident

but we are

in heaven

it's good

and you are

there

thinking

great

I am

nearly there

but you are

just dragging

these three

big bags

behind you

one has got

debt written

on it

one has got

duty written

on it

and one has

got doubt

written on it

and you are

dragging these

three bags

with you

I just

need to

carry

my works

to work

off my debt

the works

of my duty

and just in case

Jesus hasn't

done enough

I have got

an extra bag

filled with

some other

good things

just in case

and I am going

to take these

to God

and I am going

to get into

heaven

and you are

dragging these

and huffing

and puffing

you finally

get there

everybody

that was on

the train

is already in

they are enjoying

the feast

it's wonderful

and you drop

it all at

God's feet

and say

God

look at

what I have

done

I worked

hard

all my

life

to pay

you back

for Jesus

dying

for me

I have

done

all of

these

things

out of

debt

out of

obligation

to you

and I have

got an

extra bag

just in case

you want a

little bit

extra

that is

just for

you

surely

that is

all you have

required

of me

what do

you think

God's

response

would be

I can't

help but

imagine

God would

respond like

a patient

parent

to an

anxious

child

little

child

you didn't

have to

drag

all of

this here

your entry

in here

has already

been paid

your ticket

was purchased

by Jesus

many years

ago

that all

looks

exhausting

all you

had to

do

was

obey

and I

know

that was

hard

for you

because

you

were

sinful

but I

was next

to you

every step

of the

way

but you

always

forgot

that I

love you

and you

motivated

yourself

with the

wrong

thing

brothers

and sisters

let's

not forget

that God

disciplines us

from a

place of

love

and

forgiveness

run

to him

asking

him

to help

you

to obey

ask him

where you

were sinning

it's a

dangerous

thing to

do to

ask God

where you

were sinning

to point

it out

if you

don't know

he will

point it

out

and listen

really well

because God

will reveal

how you

need to

change

it could

come through

a friend

it could

come through

reading God's

word

when I

do this

very quickly

many of

my faults

come to

mind

run to

God

and ask

for him

to help

you

to obey

him

beg him

on your

knees

for the

power of

his

holy

spirit

to give

you

self

control

upright

and

godliness

and don't

be motivated

by a

sense of

debt

or duty

or doubt

let me

pray for

us

heavenly

father

I