Same But Different

Week two - Same Grace, Different Response
Luke 17:11-19 and John 8:2-11

11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.”And as they went, they were cleansed.
15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” —Luke 17:11-19

It’s not easy to receive grace - grace by definition is

We want to earn what we get.
It’s a

Prideful people find it hard to

2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
11 “No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” —John 8:2-11

The ones who stood accusing must have felt like they deserved the forgiveness they had received - it was transactional. This woman was fully exposed, clearly undeserving, but to forgive her meant reconsidering their own sin.

• Was the forgiveness Jesus was offering a matter or exchange, or a gift of grace?

-Gratitude or expectation
-Gratitude or guilt

Guilty people find it hard to

What’s the same is the grace. What’s different… the

One response leads to relationship and growth, the other response leads to bitterness and transaction.

Same grace, different response.

Our response to the consistent, unmerited favor of God changes the dynamic of our relationship with God.

Freely you have received; freely give. —Matthew 10:8