“Sola 5: Grace Alone” by Rev. Cody Sandahl – February 12, 2017

Introduction

We are still looking at the five solas, the five slogans used during the Reformation to help the church get back to the core message of Jesus. Last week we talked about slogan, “through Christ alone.” And we were reminded that the spotlight is supposed to be on your relationship with Jesus, not the professional clergy. Don’t follow me, follow Jesus.

This week we are looking at the slogan, “grace alone.”

Hebrews 13:5-9

⁵Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” ⁶So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?” ⁷Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. ⁸Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. ⁹Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings; for it is well for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by regulations about food, which have not benefited those who observe them.

What Is Grace?

Still to this day, I count it as the craziest question I have ever been asked. I had just jogged to the sideline after an admittedly great play in our flag football game in seminary. I took a short pass, stutter-stepped past one defender, spun around another, then reversed field and took it all the way to the house for a touchdown. And one of my classmates, who for reference was on the track team at the University of Texas, who was well aware that I also went to the University of Texas, who knew several UT football players and so knew what they are capable of, said, “That was so graceful! Did you play football in college?”

My response? “Other than being too short, too slow, too weak, and too overweight I think UT would’ve offered me a scholarship!”

So when the Reformers said we are saved by “grace alone” 500 years ago, is that what they meant? The ability to run around, or maybe dance well, or swim fluidly through the water? When we’re saved by grace, is it a physical thing? Well I hope not, otherwise salvation is something for the young.

How else is the word grace used? Well in England the Duke of Devonshire and the Archbishop of Canterbury are referred to as “Your Grace.” Are we saved by noble birth or ascending the church ranks to get the best titles? Well I hope not, because my family tree has a lot of criminals and no nobles in it. And Presbyterians don’t even have bishops, so I don’t think I’ll ever get to be called “Your Grace.”

The only other way we use the word “grace” is in church, so it’s kind of hard to nail down. It’s so different than physical ability or noble titles.

I think the best way to understand what “grace” means is to contrast it with “mercy” and “justice.” Let’s look at justice first. When a murderer gets life in prison, maybe you think “they got what they deserved.” Or when someone is proven innocent you might think the same thing. Justice is getting what you deserve – no more, no less.

But suppose you’re pulled over for speeding, and let’s be honest, you really WERE speeding. And suppose the officer just writes you a warning instead of a speeding ticket. Is that justice? No – you deserved a speeding ticket and you didn’t get it. That’s mercy. Mercy is NOT getting the punishment you deserve.

And grace is even different still. In the movie, “Hidden Figures,” which is set in the early days of the space race, one of the first scenes has the main characters, three young black women, with a broken-down car on the side of the road in a rural area. A white police officer pulls up, and he is unimpressed with these presumed trouble-makers. It looks like they are about to receive a punishment they DON’T deserve – an INJUSTICE. But then they tell him that they do calculations for NASA, and his mood changes. He starts complaining that the Russians are ahead of the US and thanks them for the work they’re doing. And he says, “I bet you’re running late. Let me escort you to the NASA facility.” And so they get to fly down the roads, the way cleared by their newfound police officer friend.

They didn’t deserve a police escort. It was a gift they didn’t deserve. It was nice, it wasn’t owed to them. That’s grace – a favor you didn’t earn.

When the Reformers said we are saved by grace alone, that’s what they meant. We have found favor with God, but it’s not something that we earned. It’s not something God owed us. It’s a gift that God chose to give us.

A while back we received a letter in the mail, and when we opened it up a check fell out. And the letter explained that this woman had seen one of her children born with problems, and that child eventually passed away. So she started a foundation to help families who have struggling children. And she had heard about our son Charlie. And the timing was perfect – it allowed us to send Charlie to a camp for kids with special needs that summer.

We didn’t DESERVE that. She didn’t OWE us that. It was a gift, given out of compassion because she knew where we were coming from. She did the same for some other friends of ours when their twins were born dangerously early. That’s grace.

Gift of Infinite Forgiveness

God gives us many gifts that we don’t deserve. Gifts that God doesn’t owe us. Gifts that God gives us out of compassion. Grace.

I told you one premarital counseling story last week, and here’s another one this week. When I meet with couples before their wedding I have them do this assessment that helps them get on the same page about some of the most important topics as they setup their life together. And one of the questions on this assessment says, “Nothing my partner could do would ever make me question my love for them” – rate that statement 1 to 5.

And a lot of couples put down 5, both of them, saying their love is undying and unquestioned. But the assessment is asking that question to see how much you’re wearing rose-colored glasses. How much over-idealism you’ve got. And so I ask, “What if your partner turned out to be Adolf Hitler and supervised the murder of six million of the Jewish people?” Or “What if your partner turned out to be Tiger Woods and you found out about DOZENS of affairs?” Those situations are extreme, but the point is that your spouse CAN do something to make you question your love for them. Leaving socks around the house doesn’t count, by the way. Even if they’re smelly.

But contrast that with what God says in our text today, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” God is saying that he really is a 5. He really says, “nothing you do would ever make me question my love for you.” That’s not rose-colored glasses, that’s God’s honest truth for you. Part of God’s grace is that God gives us the promise of infinite forgiveness.

God isn’t a bouncer at the club looking for a reason to kick you out. He’s a friend who’s always inviting you over for dinner. God gives us the gift of infinite forgiveness. That’s grace. We don’t deserve it. It’s a gift given out of compassion, because God knows where we’re coming from.

Gift of Reliability

But it’s not the only gift God gives.

Have you ever seen an infomercial for something like Oxy-Clean or Sham-Wow? They always, invariably, say something like, “Call in the next 15 minutes and not only will we give you a second one for FREE, but we’ll also throw in this OTHER product. It’s a $1000 value for FREE. But you have to call in the next 15 minutes!” Or maybe you’ve seen an ad or a coupon for a great deal, and there’s always a little asterisk that says, “while supplies last.”

Contrast that with what our text says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

Jesus isn’t a special deal that’s only available if you pray in the next fifteen minutes. Jesus isn’t a limited offer while supplies last. A life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ is available yesterday, today, and forever!

And I think this is a great gift, a great grace. Let me ask you – if you were going to graph your spiritual life, your connection to Jesus, what would it look like? Would it be a nice straight upward slope? Growing steadily closer to Jesus every year? Or would it look more like a roller coaster with peaks and valleys, some flat spaces, even some loopdy-loops? My graph isn’t a straight line. Mine is a roller coaster. Over TIME you can see it growing, but from year to year it goes up and down. I bet yours is more roller coaster than a straight slope upward. And here’s a secret. That person you think has an amazing faith that you look up to? A faith you don’t think you could ever match? Their faith journey is a roller coaster, too.

But Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Even when we’re sliding down in our faith, Jesus doesn’t abandon us. Even when we’ve been flatlining in our faith for several years, Jesus doesn’t give up on us. He is reliable. That’s a gift given to us out of compassion. Because he knows where we’re coming from. That’s grace.

Gift of Life

God gives us a lot of gifts, but I just want to focus on one more.

When I worked as a computer programmer at National Instruments, we had a bunch of people working on the same computer code. So we had a copy on our local computer, and then when we had it working we would send it out to everyone else’s computer. So you REALLY had to make sure it was working before you sent it out, or you’d have thirty people yelling at you for breaking things on their computer. Purely hypothetically speaking, of course.

And to make sure we DIDN’T break things for everyone else, you had to have another programmer look at your code before sending it out. As a young programmer, it was a little nerve-wracking the first time my manager was looking over my shoulder, combing through every line of code looking for a mistake, asking me to justify WHY I did it this way and not this other way. It felt like they were looking for a “gotcha” moment to chastise the rookie.

 

Contrast that with the end of our text today: “it is well for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by regulations about food.” Regulations about food were a big deal at that time – did non-Jewish converts to Christianity have to follow Jewish kosher rules for food? Spoiler alert – the non-kosher side won out. If you’ve been avoiding shellfish or pork you’re all clear now.

The gift, the grace here, is that God isn’t looking over our shoulder trying to find a “gotcha” moment to chastise us. God wants our heart to be strengthened by grace, not enslaved to rules. God wants us to LIVE, not tiptoe around worried that we’re going to step on something.

When I worked at National Instruments, I actually had a change of heart about those over-the-shoulder code reviews. After I made it through a few largely unscathed, I realized they were an opportunity. Some of the best programmers I had ever worked with were looking at my code and offering their suggestions. Sometimes they thought of things I never considered. Sometimes they had a way to make it faster or easier to maintain or more secure. This was an opportunity to get BETTER. It didn’t just benefit the company, it made ME better. It made ME happier because I took pride in the quality of my code.

I think it’s the same with God. There are times when God lets us know we’re doing things wrong. Times when we are hurting ourselves or hurting others. But the point isn’t to beat you down. The point isn’t for God to laugh and say, “gotcha.” The point is to help us live BETTER. To be happier. To take pride in how we’re living our life. The gift of life instead of rules is a gift given out of compassion. Because God knows where we’re coming from. That’s grace.

Summary

Sisters and brothers, God is a gift-giver. God is full of grace. God gives us gifts out of compassion, not because we deserve it and not because God owes it to us.

We are given the gift of infinite forgiveness. God never walks away from us.

We are given the gift of reliability. A relationship with Jesus is always available, even if we’re going through a faith roller coaster right now.

We are given the gift of life, not rules. God wants to help us live better, not catch us in a “gotcha” moment.

Those are gifts given out of compassion. Because God knows where we’re coming from. That’s grace.

So are you going to accept the gifts? Or do you think you’ve got a better way? I’d recommend taking the gifts. Amen.