The Resurrected Life: The Way of Salvation (Romans 8:28-32)

 Sermon for Milledgeville and Centenary UMC...

[Title] The Resurrected Life: The Way of Salvation (Romans 8:28-32)

 

[Slide] In 2006, Carrie Underwood had a #1 hit, Jesus, Take The Wheel.

The chorus says,

 

Jesus, take the wheel
Take it from my hands
'Cause I can't do this on my own
I'm letting go

Jesus lives in our hearts. Through grace, He empowers us to live like He lives. We must learn to let go and hand Him the wheel. This is the Way of Salvation. This is how we live the Resurrected Life.

 

[Slide] The founder of the Methodist movement, John Wesley, didn’t want to create a new denomination. He wanted to reform the Church of England. His band of disciples at Oxford University formed the holy club. They met frequently for prayer, fellowship, and study of the scriptures. They went out among the poor, bringing food, clothing, and the power of Christ. They cared for the sick. They encouraged hearts with the good news about Jesus. They visited hospitals, prisons and workhouses. They formed small groups of Christ followers to encourage their growth as disciples. The Methodist movement was about a personal relationship with Jesus and bringing scriptural holiness to the land. In other words, the early Methodists helped people experience the transformative grace of God and made the world more like a place where God’s love reigns.

 

[Slide] Some traditions teach that once you accept Jesus as your personal Lord and savior and are baptized in Jesus’ name, you are saved. They can often tell you the date and place when they “got saved.” For Wesley, salvation was more than a moment when one pledged faith in Christ. Salvation is a lifestyle. Salvation is a lifelong journey toward perfection, complete unity with Jesus in mind, body and spirit.

One can experience powerful moments of unity with Christ in prayer, study, or even serving others. But these moments are not the object of faith. Completion in Christ is the goal. God’s grace is always working on us, in us, and through us to become more like Christ.

 

[Slide] Peter encouraged the church to

 

grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2Pt 3:18)

 

The Way of Salvation is a grace assisted journey, a progression of growth to become more and more like Christ.

 

Wesley was very committed to becoming like Christ in all things. Christ reigned in his heart. Christ challenged his sinful behaviors and thoughts. Christ guided how he spent his money. Wesley cut his hair only once a year to save money to give to the less fortunate. He practiced a very thrifty lifestyle so that he could give to the poor. [Slide] Wesley lived by a code: Earn all you can, save all you can, give all you can.

 

What made John Wesley so committed to the way of Christ? It was simply out of an earnest desire to give back to the One who saved his soul. In gratitude, he wanted to please God and bring as many people as possible to salvation. His Methodist movement has helped millions.

 

[Slide] Wesley taught that God’s grace worked in our lives in three specific ways, prevenient, justifying and sanctifying. From our reading this morning you can see the way of salvation implied by the apostle Paul.

 

[Slide] We are …predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son… those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified. (Romans 8:29-30)

 

 

You can see the progression on the way of salvation. Our destiny is to become like Jesus. We are Called, Justified, and Glorified. Grace woos us into relationship with God. Grace makes us right with God. Grace is making us more and more like Christ.  

 

[Slide] I like to use the baseball diamond to teach the way of salvation.

 

We all start out on the bench. I remember spending a lot of time on the bench in little league, but sometimes the coach would call me up. It was my turn at bat.

 

[Slide] Prevenient grace is like the coach calling us off the bench into the game of life. What is life all about? According to Paul, God predestined the Church to be conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29) The goal in life is to become like Jesus. Our lives have meaning because God is with us, making us new and leading us to perfection in Christ. Home plate is complete union with Christ, our glorification. God is calling you off the bench and into the way of salvation. God wants to transform your life and make you a new creation.

 

Do you hear the Lord calling you? He’s calling you to enter the game of life with Him. [Slide] Like an encouraging father pitches a ball to their child helping them to connect with the ball, God pitches the good news about Jesus. The gospel is simple.

 

God says, “I love you. I want you to join my family. I have adopted you. Become brothers and sisters with Jesus. I will give you all the riches of heaven. You will enjoy abundant life, if you will come to me.”

 

When God calls you off the bench, you first must die. Die to the idea that you can go it alone. Die to the idea that you can be your own Master. Die to self-sufficiency so that you can truly live by all sufficient grace.

It takes practice and confidence to connect with the ball and get to first base. Let go of the notion that you’re not good enough to come to God. Sometimes we think we’re too dirty for God to love us. That is a lie of the devil. God loves you without condition.

 

“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. (Isaiah 1:18, NIV)

 

Once we respond to God’s call to come to Him in faith, we take our swing. The entire way of salvation from the bench to home plate is aided by God’s grace. The gospel is pitched and, with the help of God’s grace, we connect and head to first base.

 

[Slide] Once on first, we are believers who trust in the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are loved, forgiven, and justified. Justifying grace gets us to first base. Whereas prevenient grace helps us to accept God’s call into a trusting relationship with Him, justifying grace helps us solidly connect with the gospel by faith. Justified, I believe that Christ died for me so that I may live free of sin and the fear of death. I accept Jesus as my savior and ask Him to live in me and begin His perfecting work in me.

 

Up to this point God has been working on you. Now, through justifying grace, God is working to give you faith. You are justified. God sees you as righteous in His eyes, not because you are perfect or sinless, but because Jesus is now residing in your heart through faith. As soon as you hope in Christ for salvation, God begins making you righteous as Jesus is righteous.

 

Our journey around the bases continues. God grants us grace to believe. [Slide] God grants us grace to grow in the knowledge We grow in knowledge by studying the Bible, joining in Christian fellowship, and serving others. It isn’t my hard work, as much as it is God’s grace at work in me, that grows my knowledge of Jesus.

 

Sanctifying grace helps us become fully devoted followers of Jesus. It’s misleading to place sanctification at 2^nd base. Sanctification is holiness, becoming one with Christ. Sanctifying grace begins at justification and continues working in us all the way to home plate. Sanctifying grace is also called perfecting grace.  

 

Sanctifying grace grows our knowledge of Christ. [Slide] And sanctifying grace will help us learn to live by grace. We access grace through spiritual practices like worship, prayer, giving, the sacraments, fasting, journalling, and meditation. John Wesley practiced the daily examen, reflecting on his progress in Christ. Spiritual practices connect us to the Spirit of Christ. As we practice grace we will grow in grace.

 

At some point, we will be given the gift of assurance. [Slide] I connected with the gospel and made it to first base. I believe, but the gift of assurance removes all doubt. Our faith becomes fully confident and deeply personal. John Wesley described assurance as his heart strangely warmed. In that moment, he felt God’s love for him. He knew, without a doubt, that Christ died for him. He knew that Christ was with Him all the way home. Fanny Crosby sang, “Blessed Assurance! Jesus is Mine!”

 

[Slide] As we move around the bases, we will discover our vocation. By 3^rd base you are aware of your spiritual gifts. Spiritual gifts can be called grace gifts, which empower us in life and ministry. We begin figuring out how to use those gifts to serve others in ministry. Sometimes our vocation leads to a career, but often our vocation is lived outside of employment. Mature disciples are led by the Lord into ministry. They discover their mission on earth; why they exist. Our vocation is our life’s purpose, our function in the body of Christ. There are many varieties of vocations. Some will be teachers, some administrators, some will serve behind the scenes, some will be prayer warriors, some caretakers.

God has a plan for your life. Your vocation is a major piece of the plan, but we’re not home yet.

 

Home plate is our glorification, to be made like Christ in all manner of thought, word and deed. I don’t look for my completion in Christ in this life. Grace will always be working in me to become more like Christ. One day, you and I will be perfected. We will be joined together with Christ in perfect unity. We cannot know what that will be like, but we may experience a foretaste.

 

Blessed assurance! Jesus is mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!

 

The way of salvation will be both similar and particular. We won’t all experience God’s grace in the same way. It won’t be experienced in a linear fashion the way I’ve modeled it. Some will find grace most active, not studying scripture, but serving in mission. Like a pinch runner, we may enter the game at a position other than the batter’s box. But everyone will have to connect with the gospel and believe. We all need our daily bread to grow in knowledge, so study the Bible. Read Christian literature. All of us need spiritual practices to grow in grace. Pray, reflect and meditate.

The Way of Salvation is the Resurrected Life.

The Way of Salvation is your lifelong journey toward Christlikeness.

 

God’s grace will give you everything you need.