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The
Gospel of Grace and its Impact on Your Family
Malachi 4:6 --
Reb
Bradley
I. God’s chief
means for blessing and building families
John the
Baptist held the
secret for
strong family
bonds
Mal 4:6 He will turn
the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the
children to their fathers... (Luke 1:17)
> Strong
family bonds were meant to be a
side effect
of John’s ministry
> It will not happen as a result of methods, steps, or self-working
Bible principles
II. What in
John’s ministry does God use to knit family hearts?
A. He preached
the
Gospel.
Luke 3:18 And with many other
words John exhorted the people and preached the good news
to them.
ê
The gospel will weave its binding fibers deep into the parent/child
relationship
Truly “good news” energizes those who believe it.
It fosters a contagious “life”
> The core of
the good news is that God
desires relationship
with
sinners.
Rom
5:6 You see, at just the right
time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the
ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man,
though for a good man someone
might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own
love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for
us.
> He
proclaimed the need for and availability of
forgiveness
of
sins
Mark 1:4 And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and
preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
> If we do not
know God is merciful we will
avoid
Him.
Knowledge of forgiveness is power.
Mat
25:24 "Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,'
he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where
you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.
> The gospel changes primarily WHO we ARE -- not just WHAT we DO.
B. He sought
to
reconcile people to God.
Luke 1:16 Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the
Lord their God.
>
Reconciliation has
already occurred
Rom
5:10 For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him
through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled,
shall we be saved through his life!
2
Cor 5:18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself
through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that
God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting
men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of
reconciliation.
Heb
10:10 And by that will, we have been made holy through the
sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
C. He pointed
people to
Jesus
Mat 3:3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A
voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.'"
John 1:26 "I baptize with water," John replied, "but among you
stands one you do not know.
John 1:34 I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God."
John 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever
rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."
1. In Jesus
alone is there
reconciliation
with God and
eternal life.
Acts 4:12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other
name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
We get caught up in Christian “stuff“ -- worship style, liturgy,
clothes, house church, translation, curriculum. Our life must be
about Jesus -- not about lifeless “religion” and its trappings
2. He
portrayed Jesus as the sacrificial Lamb who would
suffer
for
sins.
John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look,
the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
John 1:36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb
of God!"
Those who truly grasp how Jesus suffered in their place will love
him.
3. Christ has
made us
at peace
with God
Rom
5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we
have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
4. He brought
us
near to
Him
Eph
2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have
been brought near through the blood of Christ.
5. He allows
us to come
boldly
into
His presence
Heb
4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace,
that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Heb
10:19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter
into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
6. He did all
our
work
for us and gave us the task of
believing in him
John 6:28 Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God
requires?" 29 Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to
believe in the one he has sent."
Rom
4:4 Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a
gift, but as an obligation. 5 However, to the man who does not work
but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as
righteousness.
D. The fruit
of truly grasping the gospel is
deep
understanding
of the
love of
God
> Those who
truly
receive God’s love
will give it away to their children
Eph 3:17 ...I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,
18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how
wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and
to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be
filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
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