Title: God's Grace and Man's Faith
Contents
♡♥♡ God's grace and man's faith / Luke 7:9-19
*** Introduction
Let me ask you a question that is practically applied in life. When you are going to do something, does God's grace come first? Do you put your own beliefs first? Or do you need grace and faith at the same time?
While a devout Christian was hiking, he encountered heavy snow deep in the mountains and got lost and locked up. He knows he won't last three days in this cold in terms of equipment or food or anything. He was in trouble. I had to decide whether to wait while seeking God's grace, or whether to risk death and find my way through faith.
If you just sit back and wait for God's grace, people will say you have no faith. ‘You have to believe in God’s guidance and start!’ This is what it means. On the other hand, if it is dangerous but you find your way through faith, people will say, 'You didn't trust God or you made reckless reckless actions.'
What would you do?
This is just an example, but in the daily life of a Christian, such situations are always repeated. If we don't make clear decisions in these situations, we're more likely to get frustrated when the conflict of faith deepens and things don't work out. Even if it was done successfully, he would not think of it as his own ability and glorify God.
The Lord shows the relationship between God's grace and man's faith through the text of the text. There are three things recorded in the text. These are the two miracles of Jesus and the words of John the Baptist. Verses 2-10 are ‘the miracle of healing the centurion’s servant’, and verses 11-17 are ‘the miracle of raising the son of the widow of Nain’. And verses 18-28 are ‘the story of John the Baptist’. Let's think about the Lord's teaching through these three things.
1. The miracle of healing the centurion's servant.
Through this miracle, Jesus is emphasizing the centurion's faith. Jesus commended the Gentile centurion for having a greater faith than the chosen people, the Jews. Because Judea was under Roman rule at that time, Roman troops were stationed in each of the great cities to support the governors sent by Rome. Among the Roman centurions stationed in Capernaum, there was a man who felt sorry for his sick and suffering servant. He heard that Jesus had come to Capernaum.
He sent some Jewish elders to ask Jesus to heal his servant. Jesus heard the plea and went to the centurion's house. But the centurion also sent a friend and expressed his faith, saying, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my house. Just say the word and heal my servant.” The centurion was convinced of the power of Jesus. When Jesus heard the centurion's words, he marveled at his great faith. And he praised that he had never met such a faith among Jews. What aspect of the centurion's faith surprised Jesus so much?
The Jews of that time did not accept Jesus as the Messiah even after experiencing numerous miracles. In particular, the leaders, such as the priestly group, the Pharisees, the lawyers and the scribes, tried to kill them by accusing them of blasphemy against God. But the Gentile centurion had an unshakable faith. This is also reflected in his life. In verses 4 and 5 at the beginning of the text, the sent elders have a plea to Jesus. “It is fitting for this man to do this work. He loves our people, and he has built a synagogue for us.”
The centurion's faith was manifested in his deeds in his life. Realizing this and putting what you believe into practice in your life is living faith. The centurion's servant was immediately healed. This miracle was done on the basis of the centurion's living faith.
2. This is the miracle of raising the son of the widow of Nain.
Through this miracle, Jesus is revealing the ‘exclusive grace of God’. The text intersects two kinds of matrices. There was a funeral procession coming out of the village. And there was the procession of Jesus, the procession of life entering the village. These two processions met at the mouth of the village. Jesus stopped the procession of death. And Jesus raised the body and returned it to his mother.
The fundamental basis of this miracle is ‘God’s mercy’. In verse 13 of the text, “When the Lord saw the widow, He had compassion on her and said, ‘Do not weep’”, expressing Jesus’ heart. Jesus saw the sorrow of a widow who had lost all hope. Jesus, who came to give life to the world, could not overlook the appearance. Jesus performed miracles with ‘a heart of compassion for the widow,’ and he showed grace to the widow.
In this way, we looked at two transfer cases. I saw that one was based on people's faith, and the other was based on God's grace that has mercy on life. Then, on which of these two, should we focus on God's grace or man's faith? Now let's look at the third story.
3. Let's look at what Jesus said about John the Baptist.
John the Baptist was imprisoned after rebuking Herod Antipas, the tetrarch king of Judea, for his disobedience (Luke 3:19-20, “Herod the tetrarch did what his brother's wife Herodias did and all the evil he did. And he was rebuked by John because of this, and he added one evil to this and put him in prison.” Antipas abandoned his former wife and took Herodias, the wife of his younger brother Herod Philip, and rebuked him. received.).
At this time, John the Baptist had already baptized Jesus with water. Nevertheless, John the Baptist was not sure whether he had fulfilled his mission in prison or had yet to meet the Messiah. Then, the disciples of John, who had witnessed the two miracles in front of them, told him about it. But I wasn't even sure about that. Finally, John told his disciples, “Are you the one who is to come to Jesus? Or should we wait for someone else?” made me ask Jesus showed John the Baptist's disciples that the prophecies of the Messiah in the Old Testament were being fulfilled through the life of Jesus, and he told John to tell them what they had seen and heard.
After sending John's disciples, he did not spare the crowds to praise him for John the Baptist. Jesus did not rebuke John for his uncertainty. Rather, he appreciated his faithfulness. John faithfully completed the task assigned to him to the end.
John the Baptist was sent to pave the way for Jesus. From birth to death, he was used only to prepare the way for Jesus. In other words, John the Baptist was an instrument to prepare the way of God's grace.
Now, we've looked at all three stories. The centurion who was healed of a servant's disease because of faith, the widow of Nain who had her dead son returned only through God's grace, and even John the Baptist, who was not able to put his faith in Jesus but was recognized for his faithfulness.
4. Conclusion
Ephesians 2:8-9. “For by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. It is not of works, so that no one can boast.”
Did you find out what the emphasis is?
Beliefs are important and actions are important. But the greatest achievement for man's salvation is God's free grace. Man's faith is nothing without the grace of God. In other words, even faith, which is more precious than gold, can have value only in the grace of God. So, even though John the Baptist was imprisoned and acted unbelief in his anxiety, he received the grace of God who sent him before the Messiah and made his will come true.
Therefore, our people of God should be thankful for God's free grace. In other words, the first reaction that appears to those who know God and realize God is reverence and gratitude. So let's go back to the topic we started earlier and draw our conclusions. Is grace first or faith first? God's grace comes first. Then, should we stand still and wait for God's grace? no. Those who believe in God's grace will faithfully follow the path given to them, even as they lay down their lives, like John the Baptist. In other words, while acknowledging the providence of God in your life, you do your best so that your life can be exhausted.
Then, what would it be like to realize God's grace and deepen our faith? I will close the talk by giving you the four stages of deepening your faith.
The first step is that the Sunday holy rites become clearer, the vagueness of tithing is certain, and I realize that I, who was not desperate for the mission of evangelism, is God's great command. I keep trying to figure out how to make God happy. As long as I have been chosen, I will serve and follow anything with sincerity.
The third stage is again divided into two parts. The obedient older brother who repents of his indolence in his religious life, confesses his weakness and asks for help from the Lord, and the rebellious older brother who keeps going down the wrong path and falls back to his first love only after being tested.
The fourth step is to humble your heart through various trials and achieve sanctification without much wavering in your faith, just as water pools on solid ground.
Are you in four stages of this growth? If you believe in God and hope for heaven, the sooner you end your wandering in the world, the better.
Like the widows of Nain, we received the grace of God's mercy free of charge. Therefore, let's go boldly in faith on the path that has been given to us, giving thanks for God's grace.