THE WONDERFUL ABSURDITY OF GRACE

THE WONDERFUL ABSURDITY OF GRACE

I. The Wonderful Absurdity of Grace (Matthew 20:1-16)
a. 13"But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? 14Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?'
b. Grace is receiving what we don’t deserve and mercy is not getting what we deserve.
c. We are God’s children and heirs of the kingdom by GRACE ALONE
d. We are always concerned with fairness—yet none of us deserve the gift of eternal life
i. Romans 3:10- There is no one righteous, not even one
1. So how can you judge what is fair?
2. Twilight Zone episode
ii. Romans 6:23- For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[a] Christ Jesus our Lord.
iii. The first will be last and the last will be first—In Christ we are equal
1. Ephesians 2- 19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
e. We cannot earn our way into heaven—we can only believe our way
i. 2 Corinthians 5:21- 21God made him who had no sin to be sin[a] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
II. Grace, Faith, Works
a. Called to the field to work!
b. Ephesians 2- 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
c. Does our work matter? YES—your work gives evidence to being a Christian, but your work does not make you a Christian
i. We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works
ii. Romans 6- 1What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
iii. James 2:14-26- True faith will produce good works!
iv. Romans 8:9- You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.
v. Following Jesus means living life at its very best!
d. The Holy Spirit is what produces good works in us
i. Ephesians 1- 13And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory.
ii. It changes us-
1. 2 Corinthians 4- 6For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness,"[a]made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
2. Matthew 5- 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
iii. Galatians 5:22- 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control.
iv. 1 Corinthians 15- 9For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
III. Conclusion- How now shall we live?
a. Galatians 6- 12Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13Not even those who are circumcised obey the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh. 14May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which[b] the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.