The One and Only Trustworthy Gospel

Father, sometimes we think that we're very good and you do bad things.

Sometimes we worry and act as if you are very distant and powerless.

And we have all the power.

And Father, sometimes we get in trouble and we want you to act with great power

and just completely and utterly rescue us.

And we confess before you, Father, that we are often unbalanced and confused.

We ask, Father, that your Holy Spirit would gently but deeply be poured out upon us

as we open your word, that your word would come into our lives,

that your word would touch our hearts,

and that we would bear much fruit in our daily life for your glory.

Father, do this powerful thing in our midst and in our lives at this time.

And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Amen. Please be seated.

So, one of the things that we occasionally wonder about

when we rent the Ottawa Little Theatre for our Sunday morning services,

and occasionally we wonder whether we should take like a 10-year lease of this space.

We only go year to year.

And maybe one of the things that we would like to do is be able to have a sign on the outside.

You know, maybe something like Church of the Messiah come worship with us or something like that.

Worship the Lord with us.

It would have been very funny if this past month we'd had a sign like that out in the front

because if it had something like Church of the Messiah come worship with us,

right beside it would have been the play that the Ottawa Little Theatre,

which is putting on, which is called The God of Carnage.

So, come worship the God of Carnage with us.

That actually is sort of very resonant to a lot of our culture.

If you notice in lots of movies lately,

if they want to say that they're going to do something that's going to bring about a lot of destruction,

what do they say?

They say it's going to be biblical.

Maybe you don't watch action movies, but often in action or spy movies,

they're going to have lots of explosions, lots of death, lots of carnage.

They say it's going to be biblical.

We, in fact, as a people, a lot of us do in fact worry that God is,

if he does exist, if he's able to do anything at all,

that if he does things, it's going to be violent.

It's a very, very common cultural belief.

Most of us just, you know, live our lives not even thinking about God whatsoever.

We can go day by day, week by week.

Maybe we fire off an odd prayer.

Some of us are maybe very puzzled about the way the world is going.

What does it mean that in the U.S. election,

people have to choose between Trump and Clinton?

What does it mean to the world that the U.K. has voted to leave the European Union?

For a lot of people, they find it very, very unsettling.

A lot of people, not only do they tie the belief that things are maybe getting better or better

or worse and worse with what human beings are like.

Many of us sort of struggle with the idea of the God of Carnage.

The whole play is, in fact, about an idea that if you strip away the civilized veneer of people,

that underneath we love carnage and we love violence and that the tether of civilization is very, very, very weak

and easily broken and our nature of carnage comes out.

So where does the Bible fall on all of this?

Like, what does it have to say about what God is like?

And maybe just as important for many of us, although actually the first question is the more important one,

but for many of us, are human beings good?

Are we bad?

Are we prone to doing lots of violent stuff?

Are we prone to doing more and more good things?

Like, what are human beings like?

Well, the book of Titus talks about this in a very, very powerful way,

in a way which is, I think, very unique amongst the spiritualities and the religions of the world,

and that if we look at it and take the time to look at it, I think we'll see that it's very wise

and speaks into our life in a powerful way.

So it would be a great help to me if you would take your Bibles and open up to Titus,

and let's just look at how the Bible speaks about God and about our human situation

and whether we're sort of good or bad or a bit of good and bad

or just what goes on with human beings and makes human beings the way they are.

Titus 3.

It's sort of close to the end of your Bibles if you're using paper versions,

which I still recommend at least at times to use paper versions.

It helps to remind us that there's a book and that there's context,

a literary and grammatical context.

And here's how it begins.

So the last two weeks we've looked at Titus 1 and 2.

We preached the books of the Bible.

Now we're looking at Titus 3, bringing the book of Titus to an end,

and here's how it begins.

And it actually begins in a very, very curious way about talking about civic virtues.

How you actually are to try to live your life in a pagan society.

In fact, it's very, very interesting.

As I read these next few verses, you have to remember that if Paul was alive today

and dying today, we probably wouldn't like him.

Paul was short, probably within a year or so of the writing of this letter,

Paul was arrested by the Roman authorities.

And he did very brief but very hard time in a dungeon in Rome.

And then he was executed by beheading just outside the city gates.

And if the papers of the time were reporting Paul's execution,

they would have said two things about Paul.

They would have said that he was well known to the authorities

because he'd spent much of his life, he'd spent many years in jail.

And the second thing is he would have said that he was a person of no fixed address.

And if we're honest ourselves, when we read about somebody doing something bad in the paper

or being sentenced and we read that they have a long history of spending time in jail

and they have no fixed address, we don't think very highly of the person.

That's the person who's writing that which we now call Titus 3.

And it's very interesting to hear how he begins by talking about civic virtues.

If you just understand this historical context, he begins by saying this.

I guess it's not really begin since it's chapter 3, but this part begins.

Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities,

to be obedient, to be ready for every good work,

to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling,

to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.

Now that's a very, very interesting thing for somebody to say.

He's writing this letter in between having been in jail in Rome

and history reveals that Paul, it's recorded in the book of Acts

and after Acts, the last chapter of Acts is written,

and Paul probably had two or three years where he was free.

It is during that time period that he goes to Crete,

which is where Titus is, and he evangelizes the island.

And then sometime after this, he's captured by the authorities,

does a short period of hard time,

and then he's executed by beheading.

But he talks about Christians being submissive to rulers and authorities,

to be obedient, to be ready for every good work,

to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling,

to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.

Now, how does he ground this, so to speak?

Like, why does he tell you to do it?

There's lots of people who will give you similar advice,

but the reason that they give you the advice can matter a great deal.

So it might be that in a shame and honor culture,

they'll talk to you about how you should maybe show courtesy to each other

because it's the honorable thing to do.

It would bring shame upon you to not show courtesy.

Maybe in another culture or in another context,

they would tell you that you should show courtesy to people because of karma.

If you show courtesy to them, then they're going to maybe show courtesy to you.

Maybe another reason why you might be told to show courtesy to somebody

is that it's just practical.

It helps things to go smoother.

Others will actually maybe give you a utilitarian reason,

actually a selfish reason.

It's a way to manipulate people,

that if you show courtesy to them,

they're much more likely to do what you want.

And therefore, you're going to get what you want.

And if you want to get what you want,

then if you show courtesy, you're more likely to get what you want.

So show courtesy.

In other words, the suggestion or the advice to do courtesy

is ultimately based on enlightened, skillful selfishness.

And I've just basically summarized virtually every leadership book in chapters.

It's often built on enlightened, skillful selfishness to get what you want.

Or is it just maybe tradition?

There's a tradition of showing courtesy.

So how is it now that Paul, who said these quite surprising things,

given that he spent much time in jail,

and given he doesn't know, obviously, when he's writing,

in 2 Timothy, which is written after this,

he knows that he's about to die.

But when he writes Titus,

he doesn't know that he's going to be executed by Nero.

So how does Paul explain it?

Like, why does he say that you should do it?

Well, it's in verse 3 and following,

and he actually begins with a really, really, really surprising,

in a very, very surprising way.

Look what he says in verse 3.

For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray,

slaves to various passions and pleasures,

passing our days in malice and envy,

hated by others and hating one another.

Now there's an uplifting view of human nature,

if you've ever seen one, isn't it?

It's actually quite surprising that he roots the basis,

because look, it begins with for.

Look, for or because.

It could have also been translated as because.

Because.

You know, why should you show courtesy toward all people

and speak evil of no one and avoid quarreling?

Because we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray,

slaves to various passions and pleasures,

passing our days in malice and envy,

hated by others and hating one another.

Now, many people would say,

George, that's extremely,

that's an extreme understanding of human beings.

And obviously, George, you don't think that's true.

Like, nobody thinks that's true.

It's very extreme.

Sort of a very bleak way of understanding human beings.

Well, here's the part that's often missing

when we think, when we read a Bible text like this,

there's something we miss in there.

You know, if Nietzsche says similar types of things

about human beings,

or if Ayn Rand says something similar about human beings,

if Hegel says as part of a development of human beings

that this is what they're like,

if Freud says something similar as part of human beings,

they all have a very, you know,

the Bible isn't saying anything at all like what,

I mean, it might sound a bit,

but it's very different.

It has a very, very different context.

I'll try to give you a bit of an example.

Imagine for a moment that it turns out you had a long-lost aunt

who lived in Australia,

and she'd found you in Facebook

and liked what she saw in Facebook,

and she dies, and she leaves you $100 million.

That's real money.

$100 million.

And so you have $100 million tax-free,

and you end up after a couple of months

thinking that you should give back in some way.

And so maybe through the church or some other place,

you come across a person, 16 years old,

really, really rough life.

They've been living on the streets,

and you decide to take them in,

and you're going to make a difference in their life.

And so you have this 16-year-old,

and you pay for them to be detoxed

and get out of their addictions,

and you have them live with you,

and you make sure that they have clothes,

they have money.

You pay for driving lessons for them eventually.

You give them a car.

Different times, you come and you pick them up,

and you drive them home.

You pay for them to have French lessons

and dance lessons and computer lessons

and just about any lesson that they want.

And they go to university.

A very elite university.

You pay for tutors.

You do all of this.

And you do all of this just because you want to give back,

and it's hardly anything out of $100 million.

But let's say that, you know,

some night their car's broken down,

and they text you to come and pick them up,

and you go and you pick them up,

and you pick up their friends,

and as you're driving them home,

this person that you've helped,

they, first of all,

never even say hi to you when you pick them up.

They don't thank you.

They don't say hi to you.

The entire drive while you drive them home,

back to your home,

and drive that person's friends all the way home different places,

they never talk to you even once.

They pretend as if you're not even there.

And, in fact, as they're driving home,

the person that you've helped regales people

about how great they are at French,

how great they are at dancing,

how great they are at computers.

They regale you about the stupid little notes

that somehow show up at your house occasionally,

like after you've had breakfast,

put your plates back in the sink

that helped me as I wash them for you.

And you regale friends with how ridiculous

and stupid and foolish this is.

And you talk all about your accomplishments,

all the while completely and utterly ignoring

the person who's driving the car,

which is you.

And you gave them the house.

You gave them the lessons.

You got them detoxed.

You pay all of the bills.

You're picking them up at 3 o'clock in the morning

when their car broke down.

That's how it is with every human being with God.

Every single person here with God.

He gave you life.

He gives you your every breath.

He weaves whatever talents and gifts you have

into your being.

He has the sun to rise every day.

Every single thing you have was given to you.

Nothing is your own.

Wouldn't you have described the person

in the first case as being foolish and disobedient,

living his life in malice and envy?

I've just described myself.

You see, that's what makes,

when the Bible is saying these particular things

about human beings,

it's what makes it different

than what Ayn Rand says or Nietzsche or Freud

or other philosophers or social theorists,

is if there is in fact a God who does exist,

who is the creator and sustainer of all things,

and we live our lives in such a way

that we basically never talk to God,

never thank him,

and just basically ignore him.

That's why the Bible says that we're foolish.

And even this very, very hard thing

about hated and hating,

and it might very well be

that if we really pressed into your life

that there isn't a single person you hate,

that might very well be the case.

Often what happens is

we just don't remember the people that we hate.

But all that would have to happen

is that as you walk out of here,

you bump into a person,

and maybe you're with your friends

and they just see a person,

I don't know,

a woman with brown hair

wearing shorts and a,

you know, a shirt.

But you stiffen

because this person stopped you

from getting that promotion.

This person claimed that what you did,

they did,

and they got the praise for it.

Or they did something wrong

and they made it

so that people thought

it was you who did wrong

and you got the punishment.

Or maybe you think

you don't hate people

or don't have anything to forgive

or anything like that,

but you walk out that same situation

and what happens is

it's not the particular person,

but you smell a smell,

a perfume,

and it brings you back

to your mother or your father

or a former boss or a teacher

and all of a sudden you realize

how much you still,

actually if you were honest with yourself,

hate that person.

And the fact of the matter is

is that for many of us,

even if we think that there's not,

maybe we are a blessed person

who doesn't have anybody

that we hate

or who hates us.

Because it might very well be

that we walk out

and that person walks away

because we're the ones

who've done all those things to her.

In fact, isn't it so much easier

for us to think in that analogy

of us going out to meet somebody

who's done all those wrong things to us

and we feel hurt

than it is for us to imagine

that we walk out the door

and she sees us

and we're the ones

who've caused the damage to her?

Why is it that we find it easier

to identify with the first case

and not the second?

Why is it that probably 99% of people

find it easier to identify

with the first case

of the person having wronged us

than it is for us to think

that we might walk out the door

and another person,

their whole day is ruined

because they've seen us

and are reminded

of what we've done to them.

The Bible has a very, very frank discussion

of what it means to be human

in the context of the living God.

Andrew, if you could,

or Rebecca,

if you could put the first point up.

Here's the point of God,

of the Bible,

saying this particular thing

here in verse 3.

And it seems like a very, very odd way

to begin to discuss civic virtues.

But it's put there

for me to understand,

for you to understand

that I cannot make myself right

with the living God.

I cannot save myself.

I cannot make myself right

with the living God.

I cannot save myself.

Even at my best moments,

I can't.

And that's what the Bible here

is trying to communicate to us.

But then some of you

might say,

okay, well, George,

now that you've painted

a complete and utter bleak picture

of human beings,

although I have to say

that you caught me by surprise

with some of your analogies.

But George,

like, what are you saying?

Does that mean that human beings

have no hope?

That God just reveals our hearts

and what really goes on

in our hearts,

but there is no hope?

Like, George,

even if there is a God,

like, it doesn't look

as if God does anything

that's very helpful to me.

Yeah, sure,

there's been the odd time

I've said a prayer

and something's happened.

And sure,

you know,

I've had some promotions

and I've had some success

in life and all that type of stuff.

But George,

look at what's going on

in the States

and look at what's going on

in Europe

and look at what's going on

in Ottawa.

How on earth can you believe

that God cares

or that he's good

or kind or loving

or that he'd actually

do something for me,

that he knows me?

Look at the stars, George.

Don't you sometimes

stand outside

and if it's a cloudless night

and it's dark

and you can look

and you can see,

you know,

in Ottawa,

you can only see a few stars.

Maybe you've been

in Algonquin Park

or somewhere far more

remote than that

and you look up

and you look at all the stars

and the galaxies.

George,

how on earth

could you possibly believe

that God cares

about you

or me?

Like,

George,

isn't that more reasonable?

Doesn't that fit

with experience?

Well,

the Bible's not finished.

So,

look at verse 4.

So,

verse 3 is,

you know,

for we ourselves

were once foolish,

disobedient,

led astray,

slaves to various passions

and pleasures,

passing our days

in malice and envy,

hated by others

and hating one another.

But,

but,

that's not the end

of the story.

There's a contrast.

That's what the but

is there for.

It's a big but.

Praise God

for big buts.

You can keep that in that

and have it recorded,

Andrew.

Praise God

for big buts.

There's a big but.

But when the goodness

and loving kindness

of God our Savior

appeared,

he saved us

not because of works

done by us

in righteousness,

but according

to his own mercy

by the washing

of regeneration

and renewal

of the Holy Spirit

whom God

poured out

on us richly

through Jesus Christ

our Savior

so that being justified

by his grace,

we might become

heirs

according to the hope

of eternal life.

A very, very, very

glorious text.

Could you just put up

the third point

please right now?

Or did I just say

the second point,

I guess.

Am I out of order?

Some I've miscounted.

Oh yes,

I missed that

second point, yes.

If God has to do

something to save us,

that was the second point.

Put up the third point.

Sometimes, you know,

I don't do things perfect.

Keep praying for me.

The gospel is the good news

of what God really,

truly did

in space and time

in human history

and which he offers

to you

as pure gift.

The gospel is the good news

of what God really,

truly did

in space and time

in human history

in which he offers

to you as pure gift.

Look at this,

how it begins.

It doesn't sound like

it's very dramatic,

but what it says here

is, but when the,

verse four,

but when the goodness

and loving kindness

of God our Savior

appeared,

he saved us.

And the image here

of appeared,

in the original language,

it's a light image.

a light image.

And it's an image

of the room

being completely

and utterly dark.

And actually,

probably this room

could be made

to be fairly dark

if you just put some things

underneath the doors

and you turned

all the lights off,

this room would be

pretty, pretty dark.

But let's say you could

make the room

completely and utterly dark,

get rid of even

the exit sign

so it's completely dark.

And all of a sudden,

somebody turns on

a flashlight,

light appears

in the room.

And that's the image here

that God,

who is by himself

goodness and loving kindness,

the Savior appears,

comes into this dark world

and he's really present.

Now, this,

Paul is making a claim

that this really,

really, really,

really truly happened,

that it's not just a story.

I love the Lord

of the Rings books.

I've probably read them

ten times.

You know,

if Jesus tarries

and I continue

to be able to read,

I'll probably read them

another few times

before I die.

I like reading them

every couple of years.

I like the movies.

And, you know,

in the movie,

just a little while ago,

I was re-watching

the third Lord

of the Rings movie

and one of my favorite

scenes in all of movies

is towards the end

of the third

Lord of the Rings movie

and Aragorn,

if you don't know

anything about

the Lord of the Rings,

you know,

you can think about

your grocery list

or something,

but hopefully

you can follow the image.

The Aragorn

has led this small group

of fighters,

the good guys,

right to the gates

of Mordor

where the evil ruler is

and the gates open up

and there's this

vast, vast, vast army

that's about to approach them.

There are this small number

of soldiers,

this vast army

is about to approach them

and I almost had Andrew

put the speech up there

but there's this wonderful thing,

one of my favorite parts

of movies

where Aragorn

starts to ride around

and he said,

there will come a day

when the light of men

will fade

and the strength of men

will fade

but this is not that day.

This is not that day

and he keeps saying this

as he's running around

with his horses

rallying the men.

And I love watching that.

I just love watching it.

But it's just a story.

Just made up.

It's inspiring

but it's just a story.

And after you watch it,

I maybe have to turn it off

because I'm watching it downstairs

because I have to go up

and do the dishes

because Louise wants me

to do the dishes.

You go back to the real world.

The person who wrote this text,

who had a record

as long as your arm,

who was well known

to the authorities,

who had died by beheading,

died because he saw Jesus

after Jesus had risen from the dead.

And he,

that so completely transformed him.

He already was from Jerusalem.

He knew that the grave was empty.

He knew that nobody had taken the body.

He saw Jesus

after Jesus had resurrected from the dead

and had led this man

to leave his well-educated,

politically, socially, culturally,

and educationally secure role

to a life that would mean

that he'd eventually spend much time in jail

and eventually be beheaded

by a Roman soldier

outside one of the gates of Rome.

The entire,

why is it that in Islam

it doesn't matter

if there's any miracles?

It doesn't matter

if there's any miracles in Buddhism.

It doesn't matter

if there's any miracles in Hinduism.

But it matters to the Christian faith

because at the very heart

of the Christian faith

is this claim

that God breaks in,

that God comes

and actually acts

in our midst.

It doesn't matter

whether things in the Koran

on one level

are completely historical.

It doesn't matter at all

whether anything

about Buddha's life

actually happened.

In Hinduism,

it doesn't matter

whether things

are historically accurate.

It doesn't matter

to any of these things.

But why is it

that Christians

are concerned about

whether or not

Jesus actually rose from dead?

Why is it?

Well, it's because

there's this belief

that it really happened,

that it's not just a story.

It's not like listening

to an actor

pretend to be

a fictional character

giving a rousing speech

to carry on

and to fight

against immeasurable odds.

The claim is

that it's not just a story,

that it actually happened,

that the God

who really does exist

is good and kind.

He's not distant.

He's not asleep.

He's not powerless.

He actually listens.

He's involved in creation.

He broke into time and space

and human history

in the person of his son.

And his son lived

a sinless life

and then died

a violent death

upon the cross

that if you went back in time,

you would have seen

the soldiers sweating

and cursing

just like soldiers do

when they have a job

they don't want to do

on a hot day,

probably muttering

about stupid Jewish

troublemakers

causing them

to have to spend the time

on this hot and dusty day

when they'd rather

be in the shade

with some nice wine

and some hummus

and some tabbouleh

and cursing

and the thing place

was so public

it had to,

the charge against Jesus

had to be in three languages.

And the claim of the Bible

is it really happened.

The tomb was empty.

And it was empty

because Jesus

had risen from the dead

vindicating

all of the promises of God

and vindicating

what he had said

about who he is

and that his death

was not a mere death

but was God's

unbelievable

but I hope you believe it.

Counterintuitive

action

to save

ordinary human beings

like you and me.

Human beings

who are disobedient

and foolish

and led astray

by various passions

and pleasures

and days of malice

and cannot save ourselves.

That the God

who actually exists

actually acted

in human history.

His salvation

appears.

And that's

the Christian claim.

And you'll notice

that this is

the spectacular thing.

It just gives here

three different images

of what it is

that God does.

What it is

that God does

as his son

who's lived

a sinless life

dies upon the cross

and dies

and tastes

all there is to death

and then rises again

on the third day.

Actually Andrew

if you could put up

the fourth point

it sort of summarizes it

but we'll just go through it.

When I receive

the gospel

by faith alone

God

pours out

his Holy Spirit

upon me

to give me

new life

he makes me

right with himself

and he

adopts me

as his

precious

child.

Look at verses

four to six again

we'll see the three images

but when the goodness

and loving kindness

of God

our Savior

appeared

he

saved

us

not because

of works

done by us

in righteousness

but according

to his

own mercy

and here's

the first image

by the washing

of regeneration

and renewal

of the Holy Spirit

and that

that image

it's an image

it's if

it tries to picture

that when you put

your hands

in the hands

of Jesus

and you trust him

to be your Savior

and your Lord

when you put that

you think of what

Jesus has done

for us on the cross

you hear that

it's God's provision

to make us right

you put our hands

in the hands

of Jesus

and this isn't

this once again

this isn't an

Aragorn story

this isn't a

Lord of the Rings story

this isn't just

something that's

there to inspire

you

the Bible

claims that

this is God's

own description

of what he

himself does

for ordinary

people who put

their faith

and trust in him

and we can trust

the word of God

because

the tomb

is empty

and Jesus

is risen

and that when

we put our hands

in the hands

of Jesus

as an ordinary

person

unable to save

ourselves

one of the things

to understand

is if God

pours out

just like we

can have

consent underneath

a waterfall

and the water

pours out

but here the

image is

that it's as if

the Holy Spirit

is like a waterfall

and it not only

comes and falls

upon us

as our body

but actually

comes and

enters into

our mind

and our heart

and our will

and our soul

that the Holy Spirit

is richly

deeply poured out

upon who we are

and the result

of that

pouring out

is that it

is if I

have been

given a new

life

that comes

from God

that's what

regeneration

means

and restored

means that I'm

still human

he doesn't

turn me

into an angel

he makes me

restored

to what I was

originally meant

to be

and the second

image comes

right after it

whom he poured

out

so verse 6

whom he poured

out on us

richly through

Jesus Christ

our Savior

so that being

justified

by his grace

just a couple

of weeks ago

I was in

Vancouver

because I

helped to

organize a

conference that

was there

and on the

Monday night

before the

conference began

I was with

several

and we also

took out

one of the

guest speakers

and we took

him out to

this simple

restaurant

and I said

I'm going to

pay for the

guest speakers

so I give

the waitress

my credit card

and you know

it's just all

chatting

declined

well this is

a bit

embarrassing

and so

I say

well let's

just try it

again

and you know

because

we all know

that's how

things work

right

it's declined

try it again

maybe it won't

be declined

the second

time

I don't know

why

maybe Pixies

will you know

sprinkle Pixie

dust on it

but I try it

the second

time

it's declined

again

this is very

embarrassing

fortunately

I have a

second credit

card

I give them

the second

credit card

it goes

through

and then

afterwards

I'm

calling

after as I'm

walking back

to the hotel

I call

the credit

card company

and they say

we can't tell you

why it was

declined

but you have

to go to

a bank

branch

and bring

two pieces

of ID

so the next

day I go

to the bank

branch

passport

driver's

license

it turns

out that

Julie Lynn

Spence

had applied

for a

second credit

card

and an

additional

credit card

on mine

and

purchases

all that

type of

stuff

the alarm

bells

went off

they froze

the card

so now

I'm on

the phone

with them

and what

do I

want

I want

them to

make it

right

I'm not

mad

I want

them to

make it

right

isn't that

what you'd

want

I can't

make it

right

what do I

want

I want

them to

make it

right

I want

the other

person's

credit card

cancelled

they're going

to have

to cancel

my credit

card

they're going

to have

to mail

me another

credit card

by express

delivery

because they

want to do

it as quickly

as possible

they have

to make

sure that

there's no

purchases on

there that

if there are

purchases on

that card

that weren't

made by me

but by this

person who

was trying to

defraud and

steal from

me that

those purchases

are reversed

they don't have

to pay for it

I can go on

right

I want

to make

it right

I want

them to

make it

right

that's what

the word

justified

means

God makes

it right

God makes

it right

for me

and what's

the third

image of

what God

does

what is

it that

when we

see Jesus

dying upon

the cross

and rising

from the

dead

and when

we

accept

him

when we

trust

that this

is God's

provision

to save

us

he not

only

pours out

the Holy

Spirit

upon us

to make

us

like give

us actual

new life

that comes

from God

he also

makes it

right with

him

and the

third

thing

is

what is

the third

thing

look at

this again

so that

being

justified

by his

grace

we might

become

heirs

according to

the hope

of eternal

life

he adopts

you

he adopts

you

in Roman

culture

you could

adopt a

person

at any

age

and

here's

the

wonderful

thing

about

this

image

look at

that

first

image

the

image

I

just

gave

you

about

the

problem

with

the

credit

card

that

I

had

at

the

end

of

the

day

they

made

it

right

but

all

it

making

it

right

means

is

that

all

the

debts

that

are

mine

I

still

have

to

pay

but

this

is

a

different

image

it's

not

just

that

God

removes

things

the

actual

sinless

life

of

Jesus

is

now

going

to

stand

for

me

that

the

actual

riches

of

God

are

now

going

to

be

mine

this

is

going

beyond

the

second

image

to

discover

you

wake

up

and

discover

that

Bill

Gates

adopted

you

I

don't

know

how

many

billions

of

dollars

is

he

worth

all

of a

sudden

you've

been

adopted

by

a

billionaire

who

cares

about

the

credit

card

balance

you

can

pay

anyone

off

and

that's

the

third

image

here

this

is

what

God

does

for

you

in

the

person

of

his

son

when

his

son

dies

upon

the

cross

now

and

you

see

this

is

a

really

really

important

thing

if

you

could

put

up

the

next

point

please

that

would

be

very

helpful

another

way

to

express

what

I

just

expressed

is a

very

classic

way

of

referring

to

it

that

I

am

saved

by

God's

grace

alone

in

Christ

alone

through

faith

alone

God

saves

me

because

he's

gracious

he

saves

me

in

Jesus

I

receive

his

salvation

by

putting

my

faith

and

trust

in

him

by

recognizing

that

it's

not

what

I

do

or

can

do

or

ever

can

do

but

that

God

does

it

for

me

when

I

turn

to

him

and

acknowledge

that

I

need

him

to

save

me

you

see

for

many

many

people

in

Canada

we're

going to

wrap

it up

very

quickly

for

many

people

in

Canada

so

for

many

people

in

Canada

they

would

now

just

say

that

when

you

die

that's

it

you

die

you

die

before

I

became

a

Christian

that's

what

I

would

have

said

you

die

you

die

it

doesn't

matter

that

you

live

on

in

somebody's

memories

as

Woody Allen

famously

said

I

have

no

comfort

in

the

fact

that

when

I

die

I

live

on

in

people's

memories

because

I

want

to

live

in

my

apartment

and

so

for

many

people

you

die

you

die

but

for

many

other

people

you

say

when

you

die

you

go

to

a

better

place

and

so

for

the

average

Canadian

what

they

sort

of

think

about

it

is

that

every

day

I've

done

five

good

things

it's

as if

there's

this

heavenly

bank

account

better

place

bank

account

I

do

five

good

things

it's

a

little

bit

of

of

some

money

going

in

my

better

place

bank

account

I

better

place

bank

account

you'd

see

that

you

know

it's

pretty

close

to

at least

affording

a down

payment

on a

mortgage

and

God

gives

interest

free

loans

and

I'm

sure

I'm

going to

go to

a

better

place

and

the

Bible

shocking

news

is

that

if

you

could

actually

look

at

your

better

place

bank

account

you'd

see

that

you

owe

500

million

dollars

you have

absolutely

no

hope

and so

for the

average

Canadian

when they

me

yeah

like

your

poop

smells

better

than

mine

does

not

that's

why

you see

verse

three

is

so

central

to

the

gospel

and

why

how

I've

summarized

it

in

that

I

am

saved

by

God's

grace

alone

in

Christ

alone

through

faith

alone

is

so

unbelievably

important

to

communicate

because

we can

get it

wrong

I grew

up in

a

house

my

parents

are

Northern

Ireland

Protestants

I'm

a

child

of

immigrants

and

my

parents

if

I

had

done

something

that

was

really

good

or

really

smart

or

really

beautiful

they'd

say

that's

very

Protestant

of

you

that's

very

Protestant

of

you

the

implication

being

that

Catholics

aren't

like

that

but

Protestants

our

poop

smells

better

than

Catholic

poop

which

of

course

is

completely

and utterly

ridiculous

you

see

it's

so

easy

to

quickly

get