Restoring Grace

Sermon Series

All Have Sinned–But, There's Grace! – Part 6

"Restoring Grace"

Pastor Jerry

Mark 14:27-31

 

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How is your relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ during this pandemic? You're either growing closer to the Lord or you're drifting away. You never just stand still. You probably have known some Christians who are no longer walking with the Lord. At one point their hearts were warm and on fire for God but today they're nowhere to be found. We all know the struggles in our own heart. We've been looking for the past five weeks at the grace of God. We are in a series called “All Have Sinned—but, There’s Grace!”  Today I want us to look at Restoring Grace. When we blow it, God says, "You can come back to Me." We can pray the prayer that was prayed in Lamentations 5:21, "Restore us, O Lord, and bring us back to You again. Give us back the joys we once had." That's what I want to talk about this morning. How do you get the joy back in your Christian life? First, I want to identify four common causes of why people fall away from the Lord. There are many reasons. In Mark 14 the Bible tells us the story of Peter and His denial of Jesus on the night Jesus was betrayed and arrested. In that story, we have an example of four common causes of why people fall away. Jesus had been in the upper room with His twelve disciples, then He shocked all of the disciples by announcing, "One of you is going to betray Me." They all began to say, "Lord, is it me? Peter, in his typical bragging way, says, "Everybody else may stumble in their faith but I will not. "  

1. This is the first reason people backslide -- OVER CONFIDENCE.

We begin to think we can handle everything on our own. We begin to think we are so strong we could never fail. The Bible says, "The heart is deceitful." You should never say, "I could never fall for that." That's called overconfidence & that's the first step in falling away.

2. The second cause of falling away is LAZINESS.

We get tired and kind of slack off. All those good habits we used to do like praying every day, reading the Bible every day, going to church, we give up.  When you do that, it ought to be a warning light, because this happened to Peter. He just got tired. That’s when you are starting on the slippery slope to falling away.

3. The third cause of falling away from Christ is FEAR OF DISAPPROVAL.

We're worried about what other people will think. This is what happened to Peter. After Jesus was arrested it says in Mark 15:54 "Peter followed Him at a distance." One of the signs that you can know that you're slipping away from Christ is you start to become ashamed of Him.

4. CONVENIENCE. We want to have a faith but we want to have a comfortable faith.

We want it to fit our schedule. Sure I want to follow Christ as long as it doesn't cramp my style. I want to follow Christ when it's convenient. If you try to enjoy the world's campfire and pleasures, you're going to get burned. Then you start to fall away. What happens to a person who's a genuine Christian, who's committed their life to Christ, but for one reason or another they've backslidden, fallen away? How does God respond to those kinds of people? He responds the way He always responds to His children. By Grace! Romans 8:1 "There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus." This is not a promise for everybody. It's not saying anybody can do whatever they want to do and there's no condemnation. It says for those who are in Christ Jesus. If you are a genuine believer in Christ there is no condemnation. Notice it does not say there are no consequences. It says no condemnation. There are a lot of consequences. When a Christian sins, what happens? You lose your fellowship with Christ. You lose your witness on earth. You lose rewards in heaven. You lose your joy here on earth. WHY DOESN'T GOD REJECT BELIEVERS WHEN WE SIN? For five reasons. This is what Grace is all about.

1. Because His love is unconditional.

God will never stop loving you… because you are a child of His grace. Lamentations 3:22 "God's compassion never ends. It is only His mercies that have kept us from complete destruction.” God does not reject believers when we sin because His love is unconditional.

2. Because my salvation isn't based on my performance.

God doesn't reject believers when they sin because my salvation isn't based on my performance. The only way you ever have any hope of getting into heaven is by the grace of God. You can't earn your way into heaven. Titus 3:5 "He saved us, not because of the good things we did, but because of His mercy."

3. Because Jesus has already taken my punishment.

God doesn't reject me when I sin because Jesus has already taken my punishment. Two thousand years ago, Jesus stretched His arms out on the cross and took the punishment for my sin and for yours. He took it all. What sins did He die for? All of them. The Bible says. 1 John 2:2 "When Jesus served as a sacrifice for our sins, He solved the sin problem for God, not only ours, but the whole world's." So God doesn't reject me when I sin, because Jesus has already taken the punishment.

4. Because Jesus understands my human weaknesses.

He's understanding. He knows my frailties, my faults. One of the most beautiful truths you're going to need to learn in the Christian life is this: God is patient with you. Hebrews 4:15 "He understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same temptations we do, yet He did not sin." Christ was in human flesh so He understands your weaknesses. He knows what it's like to be tempted. He's sympathetic.

5. Because God doesn't hold on to grudges.

Psalm 103 (NLT) says "God will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. He has not punished us for all our sins, nor does He deal with us as we deserve. He is like a father to His children, tender and compassionate to those who fear Him." This is the benefit of being a believer. If you are a believer, God is not angry with you. Why? All of the punishment was taken on the cross. You may think you've strayed too far away. If you've strayed far away from God, He says to you: (Jeremiah 3:22) "Come back to Me, you unfaithful children, and I will forgive you for being unfaithful." Many people do not understand the difference between fellowship and relationship. Fellowship is your current status. Relationship is your permanent position. When you sin you don't lose the relationship. You lose the fellowship. When you became a believer in Christ, you were born again into God's family and you cannot be unborn. So, although the fellowship with God has been broken, the relationship is still there. You're only one step away from returning. What should I do if I am out of fellowship with God? Return! Come back to Christ. Jeremiah 15:19 "If you return to Me, I will restore you ..." No matter what you've done or how far you've fallen, God says in Isaiah 1:18 "No matter how deep the stain of your sins, I can take it out and make you as clean as freshly fallen snow." It doesn't matter what you've done. Isaiah 54:7, "With great compassion I will take you back." If you are out of fellowship with God, you may think God's forgotten you. He hasn't. If you have slipped away and need to return to Christ, you need to pray the prayer that David prayed when he came back to God. Psalm 51 David prayed, "Restore to me again the joy of Your salvation.". Do you need to pray that? Do you need to come home to Christ today? All will be forgiven. That is the Restoring Grace of Jesus Christ. Come on home! God’s calling! God loves you. That is the grace of God.