Welcome everyone, today we get into the second half of our 6 week sermon series on what we mean here at Solid Rock church when we say we are a FAMILY church. Family stands for:
F aith in God- Romans 5:1,2
A vailable to Serve- Joshua 24:14
M eet Together Often- Acts 2:46
I nclusive to All People- Galatians 3:28
L oving God and My Neighbor- Matthew 22:37-39
Y ou First Attitude- Matthew 5:41
Each week we are talking a point in this family acronym and exploring it more. In our first week, we explored the core of Christianity and what holds us together as a family. In our second week, we spoke about how we serve God, others, and how we must serve with love. Last week, we spoke about meeting together often, and how important it is for us to stay focused on God, and being with others followers of Jesus helps us stay focused on Jesus, and how we can do more for God together than by ourselves.
Today we are going to talk about Inclusive to all people. As always, where is that in the Bible?
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. —Galatians 3:28
We see in this verse how Paul is making an important statement and that is we are all united in Jesus. It doesn’t matter if you are Jewish or Gentile. This was very significant at that time, because the Jewish people saw themselves as God’s chosen people, and that God was only their God. Here we see Paul making it clear, God is for all of mankind. It doesn’t matter your race, it doesn’t matter your social class or how significant your job is, it doesn’t matter if you are male or female, nothing about us that we would use as a divisor is thwarted by the fact that Jesus unites us. No matter what our backgrounds are, no matter what sins we have committed, no matter our status in life, when we accept Jesus as our savior, we are to be unified in Him and through Him. That is a big statement. Let’s explore this.
1 - Jesus loves everyone
We know God loves the world, He loves everyone in the world. He loves everyone, no matter what they have done, no matter what we do, God loves us. This is an impossible love to understand fully, but we know this. How?
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. —John 13:34
The standard of love comes from Jesus. What is that standard? Well, we go to God to get His love for those around us. God has an overwhelming, perfect, incredible love. We can’t fathom it, and that is because He is so good, so amazing, and so wonderful His love is perfect. He demonstrates love perfectly, and does love perfectly, and Jesus knew that and would be the example for you and me to love others. Jesus would focus and live out the love that God had for those around Him, and Jesus was perfect at this. Did Jesus love when He was tired? Did Jesus love those around Him when they annoyed Him? Did Jesus love those who hated Him? Did Jesus love those who attacked and hurt Him?
Let’s read this out of Matthew.
9 As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.
10 And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” —Matthew 9:9-13
So here in these verses we have some of the worst people around, that nobody would want to be seen with. Some of these were the lowest valued people culturally and some we could suspect having the worst morals. The Pharisees wouldn’t be seen with them, but Jesus was right in the middle of this. This is our example. So which are you in the story? Are you Jesus or the Pharisees?
We all need grace, we all need love, and we all need Jesus. So why does the church as a whole come up with unforgivable sins?
Early in the 1900’s it was unforgivable to marry someone outside your race
During the 1910’s-1920’s being drunk was an unforgivable sin
1930’s- 1940’s sex outside of marriage was unforgivable
1950’s-1960’s unforgivable for couples to live together outside of marriage
1970’s and 1980’s- drugs
Turn of the century- homosexuality, transgender issues, being in a different political party
Sin is sin, and we have all sinned. You and I are no better and no worse than the people who commit the sins we deem worse than others.
We don’t encourage sin, and we do address it as sin, but we must also love people in their sin, and we need to still be around to share Jesus with those sinners, just like someone shared Jesus with you and me.
Extra Grace Required- we need to be uncomfortable, we need to love well
Who is the most miserable person like a tax collector? Do we have one of those in this church?
But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” —Luke 14:13-14
We focus on differences, not what brings us together. Everyone in this room or who is listening online has sinned, everyone in this room or who is listening online also sees certain sins as worse than others. We have our own weaknesses, and we justify them sometimes by comparing them to others weaknesses, but we can’t do that. We all have to love everyone as Jesus loves them. That is what we are called to do, and that is hard, but that is also true. Everyone needs to hear about Jesus, and we can’t be the one saying you don’t deserve, have earned, are good enough to hear about Jesus. Jesus is available to everyone, and that is my second point.
2 - Jesus is available to everyone
Everyone needs Jesus, whether they believe it or not. Everyone needs Jesus in their lives, just like we did. We can’t chose who the Gospel goes to, we have to be obedient to God when He gives us the opportunity to share the Gospel, and to love on the people who need His love.
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. —Philippians 2:3-4
When we see a person, what do we think? Do we judge them before knowing their story? Do we affirm them or condemn them before we have spoken a word? We will see broken flawed messed up people, and then we will leave the bathroom and we will see more broken, flawed, messed up people, but what are we doing to show them God loves them?
We need to look at others as sons and daughters of God, and some of those people have a relationship with God, and others are lost sheep needing to be saved. God calls us all to value those around us, that also means sinners.
Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. —Colossians 3:11
Jesus did not come for the good people, for there are none who are good. Jesus did not come for the most obedient, the most proper of folks, no He came for everyone. Not just the Jews, not just the gentiles, not the good, not the bad, not the noble, not the vulgar, but for everyone one.
My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? —James 2:1-4
People use whatever we can to divide and separate us from each other. We use race, marital status, income, prestige of careers, gender, how big is our house, did we get a degree from a college or a university, if we are attractive or ugly, if we are short or fat, if we have the same hobbies, if we believe the same thing, but my brothers and sisters, Jesus is what unites us, and He removes all our dividers. Those come from us, not God. God made everyone, He loves everyone, and Jesus died for everyone, my last point of the day.
3 - Jesus died for everyone
You see, when we make these things that divide us, Jesus is what bring us together, because we are all sinners and unworthy of God.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, —Romans 3:23
You and I at our best can’t earn a relationship with God. We can’t be holy enough, we can’t be good enough, we can’t do it. But God found a way, and God is big enough to solve our problem that we made.
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. —Ephesians 4:32
What do we see here in this verse? God forgave us our sins, He payed atonement for our sins, not because we deserved it, but because He loved us and made a way for us to be in that relationship. Y’all, that means we need to tell everyone that message! This is the best news there is! Who cares about who won what championship, who cares who won what election, the best news is there is a way for you and for me that we can have a relationship with an incredible God who loves us, who payed the penalty for our sins, so that we can have an eternal life with the most incredible being in existence. Why would we not share that news?!
He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. —1 John 2:2
Jesus died for everyone, and there are people who don’t know this, trying to live life.
Who do you need to share Jesus with?
Worship Set
Forever - Chris Tomlin
You Are My King (Amazing Love) - Billy J. Foote
Shout To The Lord - Darlene Zschech
Abide - Aaron Keyes