Restored Relationships
- Tim Ayers
- Mar 7, 2010
- Series: Dick & Jane: A Story Redeemed
Today we begin a new four week series entitled “Dick and Jane: a story redeemed.” This series will take us right up to Easter which, as everyone knows, is a very important day… so important that a lot of people, even those that don’t have any particular interest in spiritual things, still feel it’s important to attend a church service during that weekend. So, it wouldn’t be unusual for the Dick and Janes in your life, and when we say Dick and Jane we mean the everyday people in your lives: your Dick and Janes might be family members, friends, coworkers, the neighbors who live on the other side of the backyard fence, … anyone in your life that doesn’t have a relationship with Jesus… it wouldn’t be that unusual for these people to attend church Easter weekend. And here is our hope and the purpose behind this series: we’re hoping that over the next few weeks two things will happen: first, that you’ll be motivated to spend time with these people during this Easter season, maybe even invite them to Grace Easter weekend and second, that you’ll be better prepared to talk to them about the meaning of Easter and why that meaning is important to their lives now and for their eternity.
The truth is though that Dick and Jane have probably already heard a number of suggestions about the meaning of Easter because the world is full of suggestions. One popular notion is that the whole story about Jesus dying on a cross and being resurrected from the dead is simply an ancient myth, possibly even a story taken from an older, similar legend; the Easter story is just a way to talk about the cycles of nature: life ends in death and out of death arises new life and Easter is just the remnant of an old ‘arrival of Spring’ celebration. Or they may have heard people say that the Easter story gives us an example of how far we should go in giving our lives for those we love; Jesus’ death is an example of someone giving the ultimate sacrifice for others and Jesus ‘rising from the dead’ is just a metaphorical way of describing the good memories that live on in the hearts and minds of those that were touched by Jesus. And this story tells us that we, too, can ‘rise from the dead’ in other’s memories if we live a good life. Others say that Easter came about because once the disciples had gotten over the shock of Jesus’ death they just felt better having known him and they wanted to find a way to tell the world how happy his memory made them feel. So, they created a story that if you just believe it hard enough, will give you a happy feeling, too. I could go on with more of these kinds of examples, but can I just say that if all Dick and Jane have heard about Jesus’ death and resurrection is this sort of thing, I can see why Easter might not mean too much to them. Let me cut to the chase: Easter, though it isn’t ever called Easter in the Bible, does come from the Bible. And the Bible gives us some very clear reasons for Jesus death and resurrection and they have very little to do with Spring returning or feeling better.
We believe that the truth about the Easter story is still the single most important information that Dick and Jane could ever hear… and they need to hear it because knowing and believing what Jesus accomplished on that first Easter weekend can both change their lives in the present and change their lives for eternity. And so, what we will be talking about over the next 4 weeks is why the people in your life need to hear about the new life that Jesus offers. And we are going to talk about 4 reasons why they need to hear about it: 1. their relationship with God needs to be restored; 2. their broken hearts, spirits and minds need healing; 3. they need the relationships and community with others who are followers of Jesus that comes with knowing Jesus; and 4. they need a reason to live; they need a mission and a purpose that is larger than themselves. This is what we will be talking about over the next four weeks because we believe with all of our hearts that ALL of this can be theirs because of what is called the Atonement: Now, the word Atonement is a very complex theological word; theologians discuss it and fuss about it and whole denominations have been born out of arguments about what this word Atonement means… but, when you hear us say the Atonement over the next few weeks, here is all you need to remember: the atonement is the fact that Jesus gave his life as a sacrifice to make it possible for our sins to be forgiven and God raised Jesus from the dead to give us new life; it’s that simple. And so now I’m going to tell you what we believe is the meaning of Easter: Easter is our celebration of one man, Jesus, giving his life in order to 1) save human kind from the consequences of sin, which is separation from God and 2) restore our relationship with God and redeem our relationships with one another. Let me say that again: Easter is the celebration of one man, Jesus, giving his life in order to save mankind from the consequences of sin, which is separation from God and to restore our relationship with God and to redeem our relationships with one another. This is the meaning of Easter that Dick and Jane need to hear and understand.
If I can take a step back for a second, someday I’d love to have the opportunity to tell you about the Old Testament Jewish sacrificial system. It is not only very interesting in and of itself but it has connections to Jesus giving his life as a sacrifice for the sins of the world that are astounding. And while I don’t have the time today to talk about this much at all, there is something you need to know: In the Jewish calendar there was one day each year called the Day of Atonement, or Yom Kipper… and on that day the High Priest of Israel would sacrifice one goat for the forgiveness of all of the sins the Jewish people had knowingly committed over the last year. And the meaning of that day was very clear to every Jew: on that one day every sin they’d purposefully committed over the past year was forgiven and their relationship with God was restored. And here is why I am telling you this: Jews had placed their faith for centuries in the sacrifice of one animal making peace with God possible. And then came that first Easter and after Jesus’ death and resurrection the sacrifice of a goat wasn’t necessary any longer… because one perfect man had given his life one time for all of mankind. And Easter is good news that says ongoing, yearly sacrifice is over; having to live with ongoing guilt is over; having unforgiven sin hanging over you is over and any confusion about having a relationship with God is over. Jesus’ death and resurrection took care of all of this. And again, this is good news we have to share with the people in our lives.
I feel that one of the best passages in the New Testament that clearly states this good news is found in the 3rd chapter of Romans. (page 797) Now I know that we could have chosen any number of passages for today, but we felt that in this passage Paul gives us one of the clearest outlines of the essence of all that Jesus has done for us… he gives us a great handle on the meaning of the Atonement. And Paul begins this passage by talking about two givens that we have already mentioned; givens that for many of us will seem obvious: one, that everyone is alike in that everyone is a sinner and two, it is sin that separates us from God. Again, this may sound like it is stating the obvious, but it isn’t obvious to everyone. I know that a lot of people don’t want to hear any talk about ‘sin.’ Plus, our culture has found a ton of ways to rationalize away the fact of sin: poor parenting, bad social environments, mistreatment by others for example, are just some of the ways we excuse unimaginable behavior. But listen to these verses from the Old Testament that Paul quotes starting in Romans 3:9 to set the stage the stage for talking about Jesus’ death and resurrection. And keep in mind that he is talking to a group of Christians made up of both Jews and Gentiles, a group of Christians that were fighting with each other over which group was more important to God. Look at what he says. “We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes…” and skip down to verse 20. “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.” And now listen as I read these same verses from the Message. “Basically, all of us, whether insiders or outsiders, start out in identical conditions, which is to say that we all start out as sinners. Scripture leaves no doubt about it: There's nobody living right, not even one, nobody who knows the score, nobody alert for God. They've all taken the wrong turn; they've all wandered down blind alleys. No one's living right; I can't find a single one. Their throats are gaping graves, their tongues slick as mud slides. Every word they speak is tinged with poison. They open their mouths and pollute the air. They race for the honor of sinner-of-the-year, litter the land with heartbreak and ruin, don't know the first thing about living with others. They never give God the time of day. And it's clear enough, isn't it, that we're sinners, every one of us, in the same sinking boat with everybody else?” Now I know this sounds very harsh and there are probably some people that would question this indictment. “Hey, I’m not that bad!”
But here is the bottom line: when you compare even the most holy person in the world to the holiness of God, the gap is as far as the east is from the west and it is our sin, our selfishness, our rebellious attitudes our desires to be the center of our own universe that creates this gap. And while these Old Testament verses may sound like they are overstating the situation, Paul just wanted everyone to face this reality: We all start out separated from God because we are all sinners. We all do things and say things and think things that fall far below God’s designs for us and everyone needs to face this. But Paul didn’t say this just to make us feel terribly. No, he was setting us up for the good news that we find in verse 21: But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 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. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood…” and drop down to the end of verse 26 “And he did this to be the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus”. And I’d like to read this again in the Message as well: But in our time something new has been added. What Moses and the prophets witnessed to all those years has happened. The God-setting-things-right that we read about has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us. And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in him. For there is no difference between us and them in this. Since we've compiled this long and sorry record as sinners and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we're in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ. God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin. Having faith in him sets us in the clear and sets the world in the clear with himself through the sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of the sins he had so patiently endured.
This is the heart of the message that Dick and Jane need to hear. Yes, we’re all sinners. But we can be made right with God without having to obey an overwhelming set of rules or worrying about whether we’re going to make the grade… and it happens through faith in Jesus being our sacrifice of atonement… faith in Jesus standing in our place and taking the penalty of our sin. This is the message that can restore their relationship with God and it is a message that promises to change everything in Dick and Jane’s life for the better now and ultimately, for eternity.
Now, I want to stop right here and acknowledge that this message isn’t always an easy message to share. I know this. I know that this message can be offensive to people especially since we live in a pluralistic culture, one that frowns almost immediately on anyone that has the nerve to claim that they have found the truth… especially with a capital T. And I don’t like offending people any more than the next guy. I know that this message may sound intolerant. Who am I to say that what I believe is true is true for everyone? Who do I think I am that I would say that anyone else is a sinner? How judgmental is that? A lot of people may really be bothered by my saying that a decision to follow Jesus is the most important decision they can ever make or that this decision will affect their eternal destiny. Plus, I also know that in telling this story I have to defend a miracle: the resurrection of Jesus from the dead and for many that makes me seem naïve at best and a believer in fairy tales at worst. And I don’t want to be thought of as either of these. But, then again, when I think about it, this isn’t simply a discussion in the abstract; we fully believe that we’re talking about sharing The Truth with two capital T’s and my Dick and Janes are real people that need to hear this Truth. For instance, I have a cousin that was recently diagnosed with cancer and as I stand here today I am very uncertain about his prognosis and equally uncertain about his understanding of how important the meaning of Easter is for his life… and I know that I am most likely one of the only people that he might talk to about these things. He’s not just a ‘Dick or a Jane.’ He’s my flesh and blood. I love him and I care about him. And to get even closer to the bone for me, when we first moved into this building a large number of us wrote the names of people we wanted to introduce to Jesus on the floor under the carpet. Dave Rod and I each wrote two names on the floor right under the spot where the podium went… well, we had the carpeting replaced in there recently and I went in to the room while the old carpeting was up but before the new carpet was installed and there were the names I’d written; I’d written two nicknames: Tommy G and Peabody, but their names are Tom and Bill. As of today, neither one of them has taken a step of faith in Jesus. Now, they think Grace is great; they are all about our social outreach into the community and around the world; they think that we are doing good things; they even brag about us; telling others that they’re certain this church isn’t in it for the money or the power… and yet they haven’t seen the connection between what we say and do and their lives… and it breaks my heart. I love them. I know their lives; their histories and their families. I know their needs and their fears and what makes them anxious. And I also know all that Jesus would do for them if they were only to open their hearts to what he has already done for them. And it keeps me awake at nights sometimes; I keep praying and doing everything I can find to get the message to them in some way that resonates with their souls; but as of right now nothing has broken through. They aren’t just Dick and Janes. They are this close to being my brothers.
Now, I don’t want to put any pressure on you, well, maybe I do, because I know there are people in your lives like my cousin and Tom and Bill that need their relationship with God restored and the truth is you may be the only person in their lives that can lead them to that restoration. Yes, it may take telling them that they are sinners and that the sin in their lives is keeping them from a thriving relationship with God. But it also means telling them the good news that Jesus gave his life to make it possible for them to have a thriving relationship with the God of the universe that will last for eternity; and it means telling them the good news that they can find healing for their hearts and their minds and their souls; and it means telling them the good news that there is a community of people waiting to welcome them with open arms; and it means telling them the good news that their life can have a purpose that is beyond imagination.
In just a minute we will be taking communion. This is a time when we remember Jesus’ giving of his body and shedding his blood to bring about the forgiveness of sin. And can I tell you my greatest desire? That sometime soon, when we are taking this communion again in the future that I will be able to personally hand the elements to my friends and be able to say, “Tom, this is the body of Christ that was given for you” and know that he understands this and believes it and, “Bill, this is the blood of Christ that was shed for you and know that he understands it and believes it.” And I am sure that many of you are hoping the same thing for someone you love… and so this is why over the next few weeks that lead us up to Easter we are going to be talking about the Atonement. It’s all purposed so that maybe this Easter you will be the catalyst for someone you care about finding new life in Jesus.
