The Immeasurable Riches of His Grace

Sermon by Pastor David Layman

February 19, 2006

Ephesians 2:1-10

Hinduism stresses a belief in karma: that ones future incarnation is
based upon the sum of deeds in a previous existence. For example, if you
are reincarnated as a poor untouchable, that was because, in your
previous incarnations, you must not have lived a very good life. While
there are not many Hindus in the United States, and reincarnation,
thankfully, is not a commonly held belief, many do believe we get what
we have coming in life. If we work hard and keep on the straight and
narrow, we will be blessed. Theres no question that living right and
working hard will produce benefits. But we can all think of people who
seemed to never get a break, and others who appear to be scoundrels, and seem to prosper.

Paul viewed life differently. To Paul, the Ephesians he wrote to, and
all humankind, are children of wrath. That is, we are all subject to
sin and death. We all miss the mark and fall short of Gods intentions
for us. Paraphrasing Bill Hybels, imagine that there is an All Universe
Basketball Hall of Fame. There are only three requirements: A person
must play basketball for at least four years. Secondly, they must never
commit a turnover or a foul. Thirdly, they must make every shot they
take, and the person they guard must never score! There are basketball
halls of fame in New Castle and in Springfield, Massachusetts, which
have far more lax standards. Players will be there who have missed a
good majority of their three point shots, and some werent very good at
shooting free throws. Some coaches there received a number of technical
fouls, were accused of throwing a chair and kicking their son, and have
lost hundreds of games. We have a Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, but it has pretty lax standards. Average making an out 70 per cent of the time, only lose one out of three games you pitch, play a long time, dont do what Pete Rose did, and you have a decent chance of getting to Cooperstown! God is holy and perfect. God cant accept people that are out 70% of the time into his hall of fame! (Bill Hybels & Mark
Mittelberg, Becoming a Contagious Christian, Zondervan, Grand Rapids,
1994, p. 161)

But since God wanted others to be in eternity with Him, God did for us
what we cannot do for ourselves. He sent Jesus into our world to play
error free ball for us, to hit in our place. Christ lived the perfect
life, and shared Gods grace by doing it for us! Paul, in writing to the
Ephesians, put it this way: God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great
love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our
trespasses, made us alive together with Christ ....For by grace you have
been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift
of God! Some of us appreciate gifts more than others. Some children
receive an abundance of gifts. Others, such as those who receive our
Samaritans Purse shoe boxes that we send to war torn and famine
ravished parts of the world, look upon those humble gifts as very great
blessings.

Ive asked Walt Ruby to share some with us today. I met Walt at the Hope
House open house back in December. Walt, Paul talks about how people can be dead in their trespasses. Youve shared with me about a time when
you hit a real low point in your life, which started with your fathers
death last April.

Please share a bit about the struggle your life had
become:

Walt Ruby comments - paraphrased -- I had used drugs off and on for many years. But in a span of 2 years, 7 people close to me died, and I came undone. The most dramatic loss was my father, who died last April. I had helped care for my father before he died, and when he did pass, I went off the deep end. I went through a divorce, and lost contact with my daughters, now 17 and 19. I spent some time in jail. Then I was hospitalized with internal problems. While lying on a cart at the hospital waiting for a test, I had a vision where I looked over at another cart, where there was a person lying with a sheet pulled up over his face. Someone pulled back the sheet, and it was me! I heard Jesus saying You can either die, or accept me. That was a turning point for me, and I checked into Hope House. My early days at Hope House were pretty rough. But then the fog began to clear, and I began my recovery. One of my sisters is married to Mark Wesler, pastor of First Methodist Church, and Oct. 2 I turned my life over to Christ, and Mark baptized me. I continued in my recovery, and completed the course. I went on a mens Emmaus Walk two weekends ago, and sat at the Table of Patience, very appropriate. Because God has had to be very patient with me! A friend and I are starting a garage to service cars

over in Ohio.""

Walt, I cant help but see some parallels between your life and
Ephesians 2. Paul wrote You were dead through the trespasses and sins
in which you once lived. And you were literally almost dead in the
hospital, and spiritually dead to God at one point in your life. Paul
wrote All of us once lived... in the passions of our flesh. The flesh
is Pauls way of saying human will, as opposed to Gods will. Paul is
saying that every one of us lives with a self focus, to some extent.
But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he
loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive
together with Christ--by grace you have been saved... Walt, its the
grace of God which makes it possible for you to be here today, for me
and every other sinful human being to have the opportunity for life
everlasting!

Paul wrote of the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward
us in Christ Jesus.
Jesus taught about a God who takes the initiative and gives a prodigal
son forgiveness, who cancels a debt far greater than a servant could
ever hope to pay, about an employer who gives those who work just an
hour a full days wage, not because they earned it, but because they and
their family cant live without it. Gods grace is a totally unnatural
act, hard for the giver, but essential to the one who receives it! John
3:16 doesnt say God so loved the world, because the world deserved
it....God gave His only Son because human beings had done such a good
job, God was proud of them; they had earned life everlasting. No, God
sending Jesus into our world was pure, undeserved grace.

Our world tends to focus on justice and earning your own way. Justice is
important, and God wants us to treat one another justly. God wants us to
do the best with the abilities we have. God doesnt want us to be lazy,
and expect other human beings to do for us what we could do for
ourselves. But when it comes to salvation, each of us has a debt so
great to pay, none of us can pay it. Weve grounded out and struck out
far too often to merit being in the Lords presence. That, we must
receive as an undeserved, grace filled gift. The immeasurable riches of
Gods grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus, can only be received
as a gift!

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