Why do you think it is that Christianity gets such bad press at times? Have you ever thought about that? I think down throughout history and comments that have been made about followers of Christ… Friedrich Nietzsche said, “In truth there was only one Christian and He died on a cross.” George Bernard Shaw quipped, “Christianity might be a good thing if anyone tried it.” And even today, I continue to hear the comments of the skeptics which say things like: “I have no problem with Jesus. It’s those who call themselves Christians that I reject!” So, why is it that Christianity gets such bad press at times?
Let me suggest that it has to do with what we’re going to be talking about today—a fourth characteristic of those we are calling ‘People of Grace’. And what we’re going to be talking about has everything to do with another topic—UNITY. Unity amongst his followers was of utmost importance to Jesus. He even prayed for that very thing (John 17, more about that on Ash Wednesday). But, I believe it’s the lack of the very thing Jesus prayed for … that causes others to be turned off by Christianity—disunity, in other words. Are you with me? That’s a real turn-off to many in the Church too!
The great man of faith, Francis Schaeffer, once said that God has given the world the right to judge whether or not Christianity is true by the way Christians live in unity with each other. Our Heavenly Father doesn’t want his children to squabble. Disunity disturbs him greatly! Why? I’m glad you asked… Because Jesus says this in John 13:35 (NLT): “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” We so often fail to realize what Jesus meant when he spoke those words. Disunity fosters unbelief. On the flipside, unity fosters belief! So, how are we doing today? Is our message to the world one of consistency? Is it one of unity? Are we sharing with others in our world the grace that we’ve so graciously been given? And do our lives prove that the Good News of Jesus is true? Let’s look now to our scripture for today (Colossians 1:1-6, NLT), as we get into that final characteristic of being a ‘People of Grace’…
This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy. 2 We are writing to God’s holy people in the city of Colosse, who are faithful brothers and sisters in Christ. May God our Father give you grace and peace. 3 We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, 5 which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News. 6 This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace.
So, today we move on to the last characteristic of those we have called a ‘People of Grace’. And here it is…
PEOPLE OF GRACE ARE THOSE WHO NOT ONLY KNOW HOW TO RECEIVE GRACE … BUT ALSO HOW TO PASS IT ON TO OTHERS! Those who are unified, folks, are also those who don’t mind sharing. And they don’t mind sharing their very best—the best news they’ve heard, the best grace they’ve been given, and so forth. And here’s something else that’s very important…
There’s a story told about the current Queen of England, Elizabeth II. It tells how, as a small girl, she was puzzled about the words her father, King George VI, used during the singing of the national anthem, since it began with ‘God save our gracious King.’ As he himself was the king, she wondered if he sang to himself ‘God save the gracious me.’ Doesn’t that sound like something a kid would wonder about?
One thing is certain: if we do not allow God to make our ‘me’ gracious, then the purpose of his grace is thwarted. This whole grace thing has to begin with a transformation in us! Why would I say that? Because the very reason God pours his grace into us … is that we might pour it into others! We have to be gracious enough ourselves … in order to do this! And this is why Paul was so proud of the Church at Colosse. They were ‘passing it on,’ so to speak … and that’s why God pours his grace out in our lives in the first place!
Again, those who are unified by God’s love, by God’s grace, will gladly want to share the very best God has given them … with others! However, it is here where we have to be perfectly honest with ourselves and confess that while we are good receivers of grace, we are not always good dispensers of it…
During a talk show on TV in which a group of people were discussing the amazing grace of God, one skeptic asked: “If grace is so amazing, why don’t Christians show more of it?” There’s enough truth behind that question to sting just a bit… It’s one of those “Ouch! Amens”…
And people like Charles Swindoll agree. He says this: “Grace is not something simply to be claimed; it is meant to be demonstrated. It is to be shared, used as a basis for friendships and drawn upon for sustained relationships.”
So often, grace is stifled in relationships. We can be going along fine until someone upsets us somehow, and then showing grace to that person is something we fail do—maybe for just a time … and maybe for way too long. The message in the Colossians passage today raises issues that we might prefer to avoid, but not to confront them is to miss one of God’s very important steps to being a ‘People of Grace’—his grace … freely given to us … needs to be freely passed on to others… Remember, PEOPLE OF GRACE ARE THOSE WHO NOT ONLY KNOW HOW TO RECEIVE GRACE … BUT ALSO HOW TO PASS IT ON TO OTHERS! And similar to past weeks, let me go here next…
PEOPLE OF GRACE ARE THOSE WHO KNOW MANY TRUTHS ABOUT GOD’S GRACE IN ORDER TO GROW… The truth I want you to consider today, in light of what’s already been said, is this: BEING MORE CHRIST-LIKE is the key to the sharing of God’s grace—being a positive witness to the world. The problem, all too often however, is those who sit in the pews week after week after week … and truly believe that ‘they’ve arrived!’ But a real Christ-follower, far from ‘arrived’, is always on a journey as a follower of Christ—in other words, in process! And it’s a process that never ends until eternity…
There is a prayer, I understand, that has become well known in Washington. It was offered at an informal White House prayer group by a Jewish man named Arthur Burns, at that time chairman of the United States Federal Reserve System and a man of some distinction. Though not a Christian, Burns seemed to find pleasure in being present at these prayer meetings. Naturally the Christians there treated him with respect even though they found it difficult to involve him in the blatantly Christian proceedings. For example, different people would be asked to close the meetings in prayer, but Arthur Burns would always be passed by. However, one day the group was being led by a newcomer who didn’t know all of the unwritten rules of the meeting, so at the end of the session he turned to Arthur Burns and asked him to close in prayer. For a moment, he hesitated, and then he prayed this prayer:
‘Lord, I pray that you would bring Jews to know Jesus Christ.
I pray that you would bring Muslims to know Jesus Christ.
Finally, Lord, I pray that you would bring Christians to know Jesus Christ. Amen.’
His refreshing directness quite startled those present, but they took the point: those who already know Jesus need to know him better if they’re to reflect his amazing grace to the world around… Rarely are Christians indicted for being too much like Jesus; far more frequently they’re charged with not being sufficiently Christlike… So, don’t ever forget, BEING MORE CHRIST-LIKE is the key to the sharing of God’s grace—a main characteristic of those known as ‘People of Grace’…
I want to close today by simply reminding you of the connection between these things we’ve talked about today…
PEOPLE OF GRACE ARE THOSE WHO NOT ONLY KNOW HOW TO RECEIVE GRACE … BUT ALSO HOW TO PASS IT ON TO OTHERS…
BEING MORE CHRIST-LIKE is the key to the sharing of God’s grace…
And BEING MORE CHRIST-LIKE involves … UNITY!
Folks, our greatest example of the UNITY that Jesus was talking about, that he was praying for … is found in the Trinity—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Is that the way we work together? Is that the way we love one another? Seriously, that’s to be our witness to the world around us!
Do you think Jesus would have prayed a prayer for UNITY that he didn’t think could be answered? I don’t think so… And if you want to hear more about that, we’ll continue with the topic of UNITY (John 17) on Ash Wednesday, as we get ready for the upcoming Season of Lent…
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