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Grace That Makes Us Glad

Clarence O. Clough, Jr.

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What Must I Do To Be Saved?

Acts 16:30-31

By Robert D. Pace

 

I.      Acknowledge Your Sin

 

If there's one thing secular psychology propounds it's that despite our shortcomings and failures and mistakes we're really not responsible for them.

 

Psychology tells us that we behave as we do because we're a product of a dysfunctional family.  Or, we aren't responsible for our mistakes because our culture has taught us destructive behavior.  Perhaps the neighborhood we lived in didn't furnish good role models.

 

The Bible doesn't deny that family, culture, or role models can negatively influence our behavior, but it doesn't excuse us from taking personal responsibility for our conduct either! The Bible tells us we're sinners and we have to acknowledge that!

Psalm 51:5 says: "We are born in sin and conceived in iniquity."

 

Romans 3:23 says:  "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."

All types of men exist today: white, black, red, brown, yellow, rich, poor, educated, ignorant, and we won't mention sizes or shapes.  But there's one individual that can't be found, and that's a sinless man—"all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."

 

I understand secularism hackles at that.  They aren't comfortable with the Bible's pointed indictment against them.  The world believes it is basically good and in the process of improving its character.

 

People believe they are in good standing with God as long as they treat their fellow man with respect and don't hurt anyone.  But they often fail to look inward and acknowledge their inward nature of sin.  I want to show you three ways the Bible shows that men are bound by sin:

 

1.     First, the Bible shows that all men are sinners by virtue of their ancestry.  Because Adam is the progenitor of mankind, everyone here inherited Adam's sinful nature.  Let me show you what I mean.

 

(Example)  If the newlyweds, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, conceive and give birth to Junior, that child can whine and object all he wants, but he's still Junior Smith with characteristics from mamma and poppa Smith.  And regardless of how loudly men object, they are sinners by virtue of being Adam's offspring.

 

2.     Second, the Bible shows that all men are sinners in contrast to God.  And God is holy!  Part of the definition of the word holy is "to be totally other."  After we were created in God's image Adam's disobedience corrupted our estate of sinless otherness.  We lost our innate purity and goodness.

 

That's why nobody can say to God:  "I'm a good person."  Good in relation to what?  A neighbor, a criminal, or Adolf Hitler?  Jesus said "there's none good but One," God!  With God, there's an absolute contrast between good and evil and it doesn't leave room for any neutrality.

 

In human terms someone may be an outstanding citizen.  They may be a philanthropist or humanitarian.  But in the only opinion that counts, God's opinion, there's none good to the core of our being.  No one is unmarred from sin's curse.  Our heart, mind, soul, body, and affections are all polluted by sin.

 

3.     Thirdly, the Bible shows that we are sinners because we continue to violate God's written Law—the Bible.  This is perhaps the most evident way God regards us as sinners—we violate His Word.  We're sinners when we break the Ten Commandments or when we disobey Christ's teachings or when we infringe upon New Testament commands.

 

These are the ways that God shows us to be sinners.  The standard isn't determined by Congress, the Supreme Court, or a parent.  We are judged by God's holy Law.

 

And Ecclesiastes 3:17 says: "God will bring to judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time for every deed."  Unless we deal with the issue of sin in our lives, we will be forced to deal with it before God's throne of judgment!

 

(Example)  There are laws in all walks of life.  And there are consequences to violating them when we're caught.  Traffic laws are codified to protect travelers, and when police catch people running red lights or violating speed limits there's a penalty.

 

It's the same with God's Law—this Book right here. Violating His Law incurs punishment.  You see, God doesn't issue law without penalty.  Law without penalty is nothing but advice, and God doesn't give advice!  We have to learn that!  There are corresponding consequences to every action!  We cannot escape the law of sowing and reaping.

 

(Transition)  So what's the answer?  If we're all sinners my nature and by behavior what can we do?  We have to Confess our sin.

 

II.  Confess Your Sin

 

John the Baptist was Christ's forerunner preparing people for the Messiah.  There were no frills to his ministry, his only message was that of repentance. He understood God's Kingdom could only be entered by repenting.

 

Mark 1:5 says the crowds responded to him in this fashion: "The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him.  Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River."

 

What we have to understand is that we're not only sinners, we are sinners with a judicial sentence upon us.  The Bible describes God as the Judge of the earth and one day each of us will stand before His court.  And Heaven's court only acquits people that a make proper confession.  We have to recognize, from the depths of our heart, that we've violated God's Law, admit our sin and guilt, and then God steps in and acquits us of our all our sins!

 

God couldn't have made the plan of salvation simpler!  It was difficult for Christ when He bore that awful Cross, but it's amazingly simple for us to accept it.

David said, "I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity.  I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"—and you forgave the guilt of my sin" (PSA 32:5).

 

Romans 10:9 says, "if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."

 

Psalm 28:13 says, "He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy."   

Our tongue literally helps regain a right relationship with God.  That's why Roman's 10:10 says, "it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."  The power of life and death lies in the tongue (Proverbs 18:21).

 

(Transition)  It's not only necessary to acknowledge our sins and confess our sins to God, we need to Accept God's Grace!

 

III.    Accept God's Grace!

 

(Illustration)  I heard the story of the man that dreamed he died and met Saint Peter at the pearly gates.  Peter said: "Here's how it works.  You need 100 points to get inside.  Tell me your life story and I'll assign at numeric value for each of your good works.  When you reach 100 points I'll open the gates."  The man said: "OK, I faithfully attended Church, tithed, and ran the Church bus."  Peter said: "That's great. You get two points for that." He thought, "Two points?  This is tough!"  "How about this: I was married to the same woman fifty years."  Peter said: "That's fine.  You get three points."  That really frustrated him until he remembered his real acts of benevolence.  "How about this.  "I started a soup kitchen, worked in a shelter for the homeless, and conducted a weekly service for shut-ins."  Peter said: "That's fabulous, that'll boost you two more points!"  "Two points!" the man said.  "At this rate the only way I'll get to heaven is by the grace of God!"  Peter said: "That's right, come on in!"

 

The supreme way we honor God is by exercising faith for what He's done for us—especially as it relates to Christ's wonderful work of grace.  

Ephesians 2:8 says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— (9) not by works, so that no one can boast."

 

Romans 3:24 says we are "are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ."

Don't misunderstand this Scripture.  This isn't cheap grace.  To the contrary, it's incalculable.  It's a priceless grace that all the gold in Fort Knox couldn't buy.

   

It's a free grace, not cheap grace, that pardons those that once cursed, maligned, and despised Him.

 

It's a free grace, not cheap grace, that redeems those that once broke every command in the Book.

 

Grace doesn't consider how immoral we've been or even what we have done to improve our standing before God. Grace confiscates and impounds our works so nobody can boast that they earned their salvation.

 

That's why God Himself became flesh.  Christ appeared as the only One qualified to live perfectly and pay sin's debt.  When He died at Calvary God punished Him instead of us.  We deserved the punishment, but God transferred it to Christ, and we're saved with a holy calling, not according to our human works.  You see, God won't let our sinful works compromise the wonder of His grace.

 

(Illustrations) Let's illustrate it this way: Imagine someone working for a company fifty years.  Upon retiring the corporation honors him with a gold watch.  Is that watch a free gift?  No.  It's a gift but not a free gift.  That watch represents fifty years of labor.  It would have been a free gift had the man never rendered service to the corporation. . . .  Another way of illustrating this is when you tip your waitress.  The gratuity is a gift but not a free gift.  She earned it by repeatedly racing from the kitchen to your table. . . .  The grace we receive for salvation is a "free grace" that totally disregards our works.

 

It's why 2 Timothy 1:9 says God:  "saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace."

 

(Illustration)  It's said that Scotland's great evangelist John Knox experienced a terrible nightmare during his last fleeting hours on earth.  When he awoke he explained that Satan tempted him to believe his lifetime of faithful ministry had merited spending eternity in Heaven.  Knox then exclaimed:  "But blessed be God who has enabled me to beat down and quench the fiery dart . . . [The Bible says]  ‘What hast thou that thou didst not receive?  By the grace of God I am what I am.'"

 

There's tremendous mystery in the plan of redemption.  It's beyond our comprehension.  We don't understand how it was determined but we're certain how salvation wasn't determined . . . by our worthless works.  Christ's grace is free!  It's applied wholly apart from our good works.