Sunday, June 28th, 2009, Sermon Summary

My first trip to Colorado was as a Boy Scout.  I remember being handed a block of wood in woodworking class with the goal of carving an eagle.  An image of an eagle was drawn on one side.  With tools in hand I set to work shaping this block into a bird.  God is doing something very similar and is way more successful at it.  He holds us in his hands with the goal of shaping us into the image of His Son.

My desire for Aydelotte is that we become an increasingly cross-shaped church; a church where the truth of the gospel changes our day to day lives.  I believe the gospel isn’t something we accept and put away.  It’s something we accept and apply continually.  The reason is simple: It’s the power of God for salvation.  The gospel is God’s principle tool for our transformation into the image of Christ.

What Does it Look Like?
Last Sunday I said a cross-shaped church is committed to the gospel and well-acquainted with the gospel.  These are obvious.  They are prerequisites.  We can’t be shaped by something we don’t see as important or we don’t understand very well.  This means we are careful to keep the main thing the main thing (“Christ died for sins” I Cor. 15:3) and keep learning and rehearsing this amazing truth.   Here are two more characteristics of a cross-shaped church:

3. The Cross-Shaped Church is a Humble Church.
The truth of Christ dying for sinners is a humbling truth.  It is a convicting truth.  The gospel doesn’t exalt mankind; it exalts the Savior of mankind.  The cross brings a man and a woman low and lifts God high.  It tells us we are sinners in need of saving and it tells us Jesus is mighty to save.  This is the first shaping influence of the gospel – it breaks our self-righteous pride.

The Apostle Paul was the greatest missionary of all but he didn’t think of himself as the greatest missionary.  In I Timothy 1:15 he wrote, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am foremost.”  In I Corinthians 15:9 he wrote, “I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church.”  Paul was deeply humbled by the gospel.  He saw himself as the foremost sinner and most unworthy saint.

The gospel is a message for sinners – sinners who are guilty before a holy God, sinners who deserve the wrath of God, sinners who are dead in their sins and are going to Hell for all eternity.  Everyone who comes to the gospel must come like the tax collector in Luke 18, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner”, or like the Jews after Peter’s first sermon who were “cut to the heart” and pleaded, “Brothers, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37). 

The gospel doesn’t soft-pedal our sin.  It does not stroke our ego.  Jesus died for guilty sinners.  He stood in our place bearing the punishment we deserved.  All the suffering Jesus experienced He experienced on our behalf.  The horror of the cross is statement about the awesome holiness of God and terrible consequence for man’s sin and amazing love of Christ.  When this is truly understood, it cuts to the heart and humbles us. 

A cross-shaped church is deeply aware of their sin and deeply aware of their Savior.  They are broken by their guilt and by the grace of God shown to them.  They are humbled by the truth that Christ died for them and wiped away their guilt forever.  They do not boast.  They do not pretend to be someone they aren’t like the Pharisees of old.  They are only humble sinners gathered at the foot of the cross where their sins were washed away by the precious blood of Jesus.

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

Toward God, the cross-shaped church that is humbled by the gospel readily confesses their own sin, submits to His Word, reverences His holiness, and is unspeakably grateful for His love.  Toward others, the cross-shaped church that is humbled by the gospel readily acknowledges their own failings, submits to the authorities in their own lives (parents, employers, government officials, etc.), shows great sympathy and patience toward other sinners, and readily serves others. 

Humility is not a one-time attitude that a person has when they first respond to the gospel; it is an on-going frame of mind a person  possesses and nurtures as they are shaped by the gospel. 

4. The Cross-Shaped Church is a Joyful Church.
The first shaping influence of the gospel is that it produces profound humility.  But the second shaping influence of the gospel is that it produces profound joy.  The truth of the gospel not only convicts, it comforts.  It is good news for sinners.  As the angel told the shepherds, it is “good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”

At first, the gospel wounds us because it tells us we are sinners deserving the wrath of God, wrath He took upon Himself.  But that wounding is like the doctor who says, “The tumor is malignant.”  That’s frightening news to hear.  But we must hear it before the doctor can say, “But, good news, it is 100% curable.”  At first the gospel wounds us but then it heals us by telling us Christ died for us and we can be 100% forgiven!

The gospel tells us a sacrifice has been made which can take away all our sin.  It tells us that we have a substitute who stood in our place and paid our debt.  Atonement has been made.  Judgment has been satisfied.  On the cross, God demonstrated His love for us and willingness to save.  No more fear of wrath or of Hell.  No more joyless duty to earn God’s favor.  No more performing for acceptance into Heaven – a vain attempt anway.  No chance of defeat.  No chance of abandonment.  No chance of accusation.  No chance of separation. (Rom. 8:31-37) 

Cross-shaped joy is joy that comes from the truth of the gospel.  It is real joy, not the superficial and shallow joy  based on life’s changing circumstances or the empty power of positive thinking.  The cross and all that the cross provides sweetens the saddest soul and produces glad-hearted humility! 

“May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you!  May those who love your salvation say evermore, ‘God is great!’” (Psalm 70:4)

Humility and joy go together, only possible by the cross.  Without a deep understanding of the gospel, humility can slip into either loathsome self-pity or pride in disguise.  Without a deep understanding of the gospel, joy can become careless and flipant or silly.  Cross-shaped humility plus cross-shaped joy equals the profoundest of praise and worship to God.  It is the kind of humility and joy possessed by Jesus Christ Himself – the very image God is shaping us to become.