Personal Evangelism 3 - Simplicity: The Good News

Reading: Romans 3:21-31
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Romans 3:23-24 (NIV)

I.   The message is for Everyone

     A.  Everyone Matters to God

           1.  God is everybody’s God (v.29)

                 a.  God is the God of the gentiles — even when they don’t know it.

                 b.  One of the surprising things about this passage is v.22 there is no difference

           2.  This was new to the Jewish believers who believed they mattered more

                 a.  They were, after all the chosen people.

                 b.  There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28 (NIV)

           3.  This is for us, who still think some don’t matter as much to God.

                 a.  Does God care about people with beer on their breath?

                 b.  God isn’t only the God of people like us.

     B.  The message is for Sinful people

           1.  Since the message is forgiveness, it’s for people who need forgiveness!

                 a.  Whoever has sinned most needs the message most.

                 b.  Who are the greatest offenders?

           2.  All have sinned Sinful people are the only kind of people there are!

                 a.  Get past the pretense look in the mirror.

           3.  Sin separates us from God, but only by going to God can we get our sin removed.

                 a.  We know that sin separates us from God — even Adam and Eve hid.

                 b.  We go to God dirtied by sin and he cleans us up.

     C.  The message is for Ungodly people

           1.  The circumcised and uncircumcised alike: Those who follow godly practice and those who don’t. (v.30)

                 a.  The litmus test for godliness before Jesus was an outward thing.

                 b.  Plenty of folks don’t measure up to our outward measurements of godliness.

           2.  Sin makes us all ungodly (v.23).

                 a.  All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

                 b.  The only difference is that some of us have more socially acceptable sins.

II.  The message is Grace

     A.  We Can’t earn it

           1.  No one can make it by being good (v.20)

                 a.  Nobody. No one. Not anybody. Not a soul. Not you or me.

                 b.  If it’s about being “good enough” we’re all doomed because all fall short (v.23)

           2.  We can’t earn it:

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

     B.  God Gives it

           1.  It is God’s to give — not ours to take.

                 a.  What I mean is we can’t force God into giving it by something we do.

                 b.  The gift is His. He can dispense it as he pleases.

           2.  God gives it as a gift: freely (v.24)

                 a.  God could have chosen to have us earn it by some feat of spiritual strength.

                 b.  Instead He gives it freely to all who receive it as a gift.

     C.  We take him at his Word

           1.  “Faith” in verse 22 (& Eph. 2:8-9) means trusting the enoughness of what Jesus did.

                 a.  There is one basic question we face in our relationship with God: Is what Jesus did enough to fix that relationship, or do we need to add to what Jesus did?

           2.  The simple truth is that we get the gift by accepting it as a gift.

                 a.  Anything shy of receiving grace as grace shows we don’t think grace is enough.

                 b.  Do you dare take God at his word?

III. The message is From God

     A.  He offers this message to all.

           1.  Who’s grace is it?

                 a.  It’s not yours or mine or the Church’s to give. It’s God’s.

           2.  He is the one giving it! He give it through you and me and His Church.

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 2Corinthians 5:20 (NIV)

     B.  The message contains His Power

           1.  Paul says the message is the power of God (Rom. 1:16)

                 a.  God’s power to save is released when that message is spoken by His people.

           2.  It is the simple, undecorated message that shows best the power that is in it.

                 a.  Oh, how we are tempted to give the message more power!

                 b.  Oh, how we are tempted to change the message to something we think our friends might more easily accept!

     C.  The Holy Spirit Speaks the message.

           1.  Even though the words might come out of our mouths, the important thing that happens is God’s Spirit speaks to their spirit.

“When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning. John 15:26-27 (NIV)

           2.  We stay out of His way, by not adding to or detracting from the basic Truth: by grace through faith in the redeeming work of Jesus.

                 a.  It really is that simple.

                 b.  Are you ready to take God at his word today for the first time, or to renew your trust in Him?

The Bottom Line:

Hymn: Red # 431 (1-3?)