Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“Justifying Grace: God’s complete forgiveness”
(Part 3 of ‘Grace & Salvation’)
Jan 18, 2015
Scripture
Romans 3:21-24
But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed
by the law and the prophets; 22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith
of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely
by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Galatians 2:15-16
"We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' 16 know that a man is not
justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put
our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by
observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.
Galatians 3:26-27
You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27 for all of you who were
baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
Core Idea, challenge and summary
Core Idea: Justifying grace is God’s complete forgiveness for all our sins and is
offered to all as a free gift. With justifying grace we have a new beginning as we
enter into a loving relationship with God through faith in Jesus.
Challenge: To encourage non-believers to receive God’s justifying grace and to
encourage Christians to take full advantage of the new beginning that is made
possible by justifying grace.
Summary: God’s justifying grace is like a complete, divine pardon. All your sins
are forgiven when you receive God’s justifying grace. No sin is held against you
because the blood of Jesus completely washes them away. Now, here’s the
really good news: God offers this complete forgiveness to everyone. It’s a free
gift. All you have to do is accept it through faith in Jesus.
Although it is a free gift that is not earned, acceptance of God’s forgiveness
entails an admission of guilt and sincere desire to change. This is how
repentance fits into our salvation. Repentance is admitting to God that you are a
sinner and expressing a sincere desire to change. It generally happens just prior
to or during the time we receive God’s justifying grace.
When we receive God’s divine pardon and become justified (forgiven), we have a
new beginning as regenerated people. There are four ways a justified person
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Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“Justifying Grace: God’s complete forgiveness”
(Part 3 of ‘Grace & Salvation’)
Jan 18, 2015
experiences a new beginning. They are: 1) eternal life begins, 2) a restored love
relationship with God as our Father begins, 3) we enter the Kingdom of Heaven
and begin to follow Kingdom of Heaven Values rather than worldly values and 4)
we begin the process to become more like Jesus.
Do you need a new beginning? If you are like everyone else, the answer is yes.
None of us are perfect and we have all messed up our lives in some way. We all
need a new beginning.
God offers us a new beginning with His justifying grace. If you have not already
accepted God’s divine pardon, do so now! Go to God in prayer and say YES to
His free offer of complete forgiveness.
If you already accepted God’s divine pardon, what are you doing with it? What
have you done with your new beginning? How is your relationship with God?
How much time do you spend with God in prayer, Bible study and worship? Are
you becoming more like Christ?
Sermon
I.
Introduction: A story of a Presidential pardon
A. On June 17, 1972, five agents, hired by President Nixon’s Committee to
re-elect the president, broke into the Democrat National Committee Office
in the Watergate Hotel.

The Nixon administration responded to the political fallout by trying
to cover-up illegal political activities.

This attempted cover-up led to Nixon’s resignation as President,
just prior to a full impeachment vote in congress.

After resigning as President, Nixon faced the possibility of being
indicted on criminal charges as a private citizen for crimes he
committed as president. He would have been charged with
obstruction of justice.
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Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“Justifying Grace: God’s complete forgiveness”
(Part 3 of ‘Grace & Salvation’)
Jan 18, 2015

But, the newly installed President Ford pardoned him on
September 8, 1974.1
B. Nixon’s pardon was not complete.

He did not face any punishment for his alleged criminal charges
BUT

His public stigma remained.
 History forever associates Nixon with the Watergate scandal.
 His great accomplishments, including getting U.S. troops out
of Vietnam and re-establishing diplomatic relations with
China, are forgotten in the shadow of Watergate.
C. Presidential pardons not all encompassing

The pardoned person does not face criminal punishment and
his/her civil rights are restored
BUT

.The extent of the Presidential pardon ends there
 The person receiving the pardon still has a criminal record
indicating they were either charged with a crime or about to
be charged with a crime.
 This record also indicates any punishment they may have
received prior to the pardon.
 Even if the criminal records are expunged, there are still
news reports and historical documents chronicling their
criminal activities.
 Some type of paper or computer trail will continue to expose
their crimes. The public stigma remains.
1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watergate_scandal; http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpsrv/politics/special/watergate/index.html
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Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“Justifying Grace: God’s complete forgiveness”
(Part 3 of ‘Grace & Salvation’)
Jan 18, 2015
D. Unlike a presidential pardon, God offers a divine pardon that is complete.
This offer of a divine pardon is called justifying grace and it entails
complete forgiveness.
II.
God’s justifying grace
A. God’s justifying grace is like a complete, divine pardon.

All your sins are forgiven when you receive God’s justifying grace.

Sins are no longer counted against you because the blood of Jesus
completely washes them away.

Unlike the pardons we get from presidents, a divine pardon leaves
no paper trail reminding people of past sins.
 Heaven does not keep criminal records.
 The Book of Life will have your name in it with no indication
of the sins for which you received a pardon.
 There will be no public stigma attached to your divine
pardon. Although people on earth may remember your sins,
no one in heaven cares about your past sins.
B. Although it is a free gift that is not earned, acceptance of God’s
forgiveness entails an admission of guilt and sincere desire to change.

This is how repentance fits into our salvation.

Repentance is admitting to God that you are a sinner and
expressing a sincere desire to change.

It generally happens just prior to or during the time we receive
God’s justifying grace.
C. The really good news: God offers everyone a divine pardon.

This is good news because we all need it.
 We all “…have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God…”
(Romans 3:23).
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Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“Justifying Grace: God’s complete forgiveness”
(Part 3 of ‘Grace & Salvation’)
Jan 18, 2015
 We’ve all thought, said or done something that is unloving
towards God, ourselves and others and separated ourselves
from God

How do we receive this free offer of salvation?
 We simply receive it through faith in Jesus Christ.
 It’s a free gift. We do nothing to earn it.
III.
Receiving justifying grace (God’s free offer of complete forgiveness)
A. Passages such as Romans 3:21-24; Galatians 2:16 and Galatians 3:26-29
apply to everyone and can be personalized.

Romans 3:21-24 (In a personalized form): But now a righteousness
from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law
and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes
through faith in Jesus Christ for me who believes. There is no
difference, for I have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and I
am justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came
by Christ Jesus.

Galatians 2:16 (In a personalized form): 16 I know that I am not
justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So I, too,
have put my faith in Christ Jesus that I may be justified by faith in
Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law
no one will be justified.

Galatians 3:26-29 (In personalized form): I am a child of God
through faith in Christ Jesus, 27 for I, having been baptized into
Christ have clothed myself with Christ.
B. The faith through which we receive justification (forgiveness)

More than simply believing Jesus is the Son of God.
 Even demons possess this intellectual assent, (Mark 1:2324; Luke 4:33-34).
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Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“Justifying Grace: God’s complete forgiveness”
(Part 3 of ‘Grace & Salvation’)
Jan 18, 2015
 In addition to the intellectual assent, this faith must also
involve a trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord.

Trusting Jesus as Savior and Lord
 When you trust Jesus as Savior, you believe He wiped away
all our sins through His life, death and resurrection.
 When you trust Jesus as Lord, you are willing to surrender
your life to Him.

This faith (trust) leads to obedience.
 Saving faith comes first and then comes obedience or good
works.
 We are not saved by good works but good works is a
consequence of being saved.
 Living the life Jesus wants us to live is evidence of our
saving faith.
IV.
Justifying grace (God’s complete pardon) gives us a new beginning
A. When we receive God’s divine pardon and become justified, we have a
new beginning as regenerated people.

This is commonly known as being born again (John 3:3).

There are four ways in which a justified, or reborn, believer
experiences a new beginning.
B. The first new beginning: Eternal life

Eternal life is more than simply existing forever and going to
heaven when we die.

Eternal life is having a never ending love relationship with God.
This never ending love relationship starts the moment we are
justified.

Jesus defines eternal life as having a relationship with God. “Now
this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and
Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:3)
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Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“Justifying Grace: God’s complete forgiveness”
(Part 3 of ‘Grace & Salvation’)
Jan 18, 2015
C. The second new beginning: A restored loving relationship with God as our
perfect Father

Romans 8:15-16 - “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a
slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by
him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit
that we are God's children.”

As children of God, we can go to God in prayer and say: “Dad, I
need your help”, “Dad, I have something to run by you”, “Dad, I’m
hurting”, or “Dad, I love you.”
D. The third new beginning: We enter the Kingdom of Heaven and begin to
follow Kingdom of Heaven values rather than worldly values

As justified believers, we live in a sinful and fallen world but we are
not of that world. We become citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven
 Philippians 3:20 – “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we
eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,”
 John 17:14-16 – “I [Jesus]have given them your word and
the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any
more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take
them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil
one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.”
 Luke 17:20-21 - “Once, having been asked by the Pharisees
when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, ‘The
kingdom of God does not come with your careful
observation, nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,'
because the kingdom of God is within you.’"

As citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, our values and beliefs run
counter to the world’s values and beliefs.
 The world values money, power and prestige. The Kingdom
of Heaven values faith, humility and service.
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Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“Justifying Grace: God’s complete forgiveness”
(Part 3 of ‘Grace & Salvation’)
Jan 18, 2015
 The world relies on might and force. The Kingdom of Heaven
relies on faith, love and the Holy Spirit.
 The world teaches us to love only those who love us back.
The Kingdom of Heaven teaches us to love our enemies and
pray for those who persecute us.
E. The fourth new beginning: The process to become more like Jesus.

This is what enables us to live out Kingdom of Heaven values in
this sinful and fallen world. It begins

As we walk in a relationship with God, the Holy Spirit changes our
hearts and makes us more like Jesus.

This is the goal of the Christian life.
 1 John 3:2 - “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and
what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know
that when He [Jesus] appears, we shall be like Him, for we
shall see Him as He is.”
 Ephesians 4:14-15. “Then we will no longer be infants,
tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and
there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and
craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead,
speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up
into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ.”

This process of becoming more like Jesus is called sanctification.
The Holy Spirit’s Work to bring us through this process is called
sanctifying grace. This will be the topic of next week’s sermon.
V.
Conclusion
A. Do you need a new beginning?

If you are like everyone else, the answer is yes.

None of us are perfect and we have all messed up our lives in
some way.
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Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“Justifying Grace: God’s complete forgiveness”
(Part 3 of ‘Grace & Salvation’)
Jan 18, 2015

We all need a new beginning.
B. God offers us a new beginning with His justifying grace.

If you have not already accepted God’s divine pardon, do so now!

Go to God in prayer and say YES to His free offer of complete
forgiveness.
C. If you already accepted God’s divine pardon, what are you doing with it?

What have you done with your new beginning?

How is your relationship with God? How much time do you spend
with God in prayer, Bible study and worship?

Are you living out Kingdom of Heaven values rather than worldly
values?

Are you becoming more like Christ?
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