Vision (2): Sola Gratia

Romans 3:19-31

We are continuing with our Vision and Introduction of our church today. Last week, we looked at how we can experience God and know God’s will for us. The way we get to know God and know God’s will is through the Word of God.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is God-breathed, and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God maybe thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Through the Bible, we understand what God desires and become equipped to live that way. Then, what exactly is it that God requires of us in our lives? What is the life that God desires to see in each of us?

The one thing God desires out of us the most is to glorify God. That is the very purpose of our lives, and the reason for which we are created.

I have mentioned before that for some churches the purpose is the salvation of souls and discipleship training. And yes, both are very important. But I tend to view those two as means to an end. The ultimate end for human being is God’s glory. Salvation of souls and discipleship training are two ways we can bring God the glory.

It is so important to have a goal in life. Depending on the goal, the meaning of our lives change. Have you ever watched Forest Gump? At the beginning and the ending of the movie, there is this feather that floats around. This feather does not have a goal or direction its floating towards. It just goes wherever the wind takes it. This feather is supposed to symbolize Forest Gump. Gump has an IQ of around 75, and is incapable of setting goals in life. So the movie is about Gump experiencing all these events that just happens to happen. And after series of these events, if one’s life is over, then that’s it.

But there must be a goal or purpose in our lives. Our lives will be meaningless, if all we experience is series of random events in our lives. We need to live according the purpose we have set out.

Every object has a purpose. And the purpose of that object is decided by a person who made it. That’s how it has a value. If you were to buy $500 driver, and all you use it for is to sweep things out from under the bed, then it is totally worthless. It has value when it is used as intended.

Human beings are the same. The purpose of our lives are set by God. And that very purpose is God’s glory. Isaiah 43:7 “Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” I Corinthians 10:31 “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” Westminster Shorter Catechism Q&A 1 “What is the chief end of man. The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.”

God’s glory is the purpose of our lives. Yes, there may be other goals or purposes. Revival, evangelism, missions, or in personal lives getting into good schools, good jobs, family, etc. But the chief end of man is to glorify God. That is the life God desires of us.

Then what kind of life is the life that brings God the glory? Simply put, it is to use my God given talent and everything else, enjoying them, and doing good for God. John Piper puts it this way, using the words of the Westminster Shorter Catechism. “The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying him forever.” Or he says, “God is most glorified, when we are most satisfied in Him.” God is pleased when we use whatever God has blessed us with to the fullest.

Why is that? It is because through our using our talents, God’s creativity and perfection comes through us. Babe Ruth, one of the most famous baseball players of all time, is famous for being a home run king. In over 100 years of baseball history, he ranks #3 in all-time home run hitters. But he was a pitcher originally. He was pretty decent pitcher, but he shined when he became a hitter. When one uses one’s talent to the fullest, there is “glory.”

When we use the talents God has given us well, and enjoy God’s wonderful gifts, then we can bring God the glory.

Unfortunately, the Bible says that we are unable to live this type of life. In verse 23 of our text today, it says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Our ultimate end is to glorify God, but it says that all “fall short of the glory of God.” What is the reason for this shortcoming? It is sin!

We are all sinners. We commit sin for commission, meaning we have done things we ought to have not done, and sin of omission, which means we have not done things we ought to have done. It is sin even if we tried hard but was not perfect. We are all sinners, and probably a greater sinner than we dare to imagine.

Many in the world believes that if you do the right things you can reach God’s glory, or heaven, or paradise, or some sort of spiritual satisfaction. And they try hard to get there. That’s just about how all the religions of the world are. They try hard to reach the top of the mountain. They give to the poor, they volunteer and serve, they follow laws, and they try to live peacefully with neighbors.

Put it another way, people live under the Law. Yes, the Law was given to the Jews, but everybody has some sort of laws for themselves. And they try to satisfy the requirements of those laws to reach heaven, paradise, or nirvana. But can we really get there through the law?

The Bible says absolutely not. All fall short of the glory of God. But I put in all this effort. I served. I gave. I did good deeds. I didn’t do anything wrong. I kept the Ten Commandments. I kept all the Sabbath. I tithe…

Do you remember the story of a rich young ruler, that we looked at 2 weeks ago? He took pride in himself in keeping all the Laws, and thought that he was very close to the top of a mountain. He knew that he lacked something, so he came to ask Jesus what that way. But according to Jesus, this path under the Law he was taking was a completely wrong road. There is no way he can get to the top. He didn’t just lack one thing, he was on a completely wrong paths.

Vv. 19-20 “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.”

Through the Law, you cannot get to God’s glory. All that the Law does is to tell us how greater of a sinner I am.

Still do not believe that you can’t do it on your own? Romans 2:12 – “All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and who sin under the law will be judged by the law.” When you look at this entire passage, you learn that whether we know God’s Law or not, God has written his laws in our hearts, so that we know what is right and what is wrong. We are judged by what we know and heard. Put it another way. There is a recorder around our necks that has recorded everything from our birth to death – all our thoughts, motives, actions, etc. Who of us will be fine to reveal that tape in front of everyone? The very tape that has every single thought we’ve ever had… it is okay to reveal it? How many of us will be okay with that?

We are much bigger sinners than we imagined. And our efforts and the law teaches us and reveals our sin.

Then, how can we live the life that brings God the glory? It is through grace. Grace… What is it? It is receiving something you did not deserve. It is given to us freely. Verse 23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” And verse 24, “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” What we could not reach on our own, Christ did for us.

Yes, this is the message you’ve heard a lot. But there is no message greater that the church can give. And this is what separates Christianity from the rest of the religions. All religions say that you need to put in efforts to reach the top. The problem is how much effort do I need to put in? There is no peace when you realize you can always put in more efforts. But the church’s message is that it is not me, but what Christ did that brings us closer to God. Christ has fulfilled it and we receive it for free.

And because it is not our effort, we do not have reasons to be prideful. Vv. 27-28 “Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.”

It is not our effort, but the grace of God that led to our salvation. And it is through this grace we can glorify God. At the same time, it is so freeing., Since we have already been given righteousness, all we have to do is live the life of thanksgiving. We do not have to worry whether our efforts are good enough.

I believe this message of the Gospel must be the message that all churches, and especially our church, preach. We can be the true light that drives out darkness, living water that quenches thirsts, bread of life that fills the hungry, redeeming comfort to those living difficult lives, only through the message of Good news. God’s grace! Let us be the church that proclaims God’s grace!

We are all greater sinners than we realize. But we are also more loved than we had ever dreamed. Now let us go out and proclaim this amazing love of God.