Grace


Read this if you want to understand how:


Only Jesus can save us


We can't reach heaven by our own efforts




1. Jesus is our ladder to heaven



If we need to reach a high ceiling - for instance to change a light bulb:






It’s the same with getting to heaven:






Genesis 28:12 ~ And he (= Jacob) dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. 


--> Jacob saw the angels of God ascending & descending on a ladder going from earth to heaven.




Hundreds of years later - Jesus explained that the ladder refers to Him / the Son of Man:



John 1:51 ~ And He (= Jesus) saith unto him (= Nathanael), Verily, verily, I say unto you,


Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. 




--> So it’s Jesus  (not a physical ladder!)  Who enables us to go from earth to heaven:






In this message we’ll:



A. Start by looking at some of these pictures.



B. Then investigate:





C. Finish by looking at some more pictures of how Jesus is the only way to heaven.




2. The tower of Babel



Genesis 11:4 ~ And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven …


--> The people wanted to get to heaven by their OWN EFFORTS.


--> By building their own tower.




But that’s not God’s way - so He stopped them:


Genesis 11:8 ~ So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off (= stopped / gave up) to build the city. 




Q - Which tower DOES get us to heaven?


Proverbs 18:10 ~ The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.


--> We can ONLY be safe


(= be saved : by going to heaven instead of to hell)


... by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.




3. The rich young man



Matthew 19:16-22



 Verse 16

16And, behold, one came and said unto Him (= Jesus), Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 


--> The man asked what he could do.


--> He thought that we could earn eternal life.




Verse 17

17And He said unto him, Why callest thou Me good? There is none good but One, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.


--> Jesus told the young man to keep the commandments.


--> That means keeping the Old Testament law.




Verses 18-20

18He (= the young man) saith unto Him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, 


19Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.


20The young man saith unto Him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?


--> The young man said he’d kept those commandments.




Verses 21-22

21Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow Me.


22But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.



--> Jesus put His finger on the one point where the rich young man fell short.


--> He didn’t want to give away his money to the poor.




Q - Why is this passage in the Bible?



A - To show that there’s ALWAYS a part of us which DOESN'T come up to God’s standards


... in what we:






--> So NONE of us can get to heaven by keeping the Old Testament law.




Further reading

Psalms 14:2-3, 143:1-2

Proverbs 20:9


Ecclesiastes 7:20

Ezekiel 33:13


Mark 10:17-27

John 7:19, 8:7-9

Acts 15:5 then 10


Romans 3:9-12, 4:13-16, 9:31-32

Galatians 3:22, 6:13


1 John 1:8 & 10




4. Let's see what God says about the law



James 2:10 ~ For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.


--> James explained that we only need to break one of God’s laws to be guilty!




Illustration


It's like:






Moses made one mistake --> God would not let him enter the Promised Land.


(Numbers 20:7-12 & 27:12-14 / Deuteronomy 32:48-52 - Moses claimed that he and Aaron were performing the miracle: striking the rock instead of speaking to it.)




In the same way - if we rely on keeping the law, but commit JUST ONE SIN

--> we CAN'T get to heaven.



Because none of us can keep the whole law - none of us can be saved by the law.




Q - So why have the law in the first place?


A - To show us that God is perfect, but that we’re not:



Romans 3:19-20


19Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 


20Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.


(= we understand that we're sinners and that we need to deal with this problem).




Illustration


We only understand the need to obey the speed limit, once we know there's:






And we only understand our need for a Saviour once we know:






The challenge of trying to keep the law shows us:










Galatians 3:24-25


24Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.


25But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.



--> The law’s like a school teacher:







But we don’t stay in school all of our lives.



By the time we leave school - we should know how to behave.



It’s the same once we’re mature believers:





Psalm 40:8 ~ I delight to do Thy will, O my God: yea, Thy law is within my heart.




Illustration


If we stay in a B&B or hotel - the owners put up signs telling customers how to behave:




etc.




Q - Why?


A - Because there’s no close, lasting relationship between the owners and their customers.




But when we stay with friends & family - they don’t need to put up signs for us.



We look after their home:





That’s a MUCH BETTER sort of relationship - like the relationship God wants WITH US. 




God wants us to do the right thing:






John 14:23 ~ Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love Me, he will keep My Words: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode (= our home) with him.


 


Further reading

Deuteronomy 6:16-17 & 25, 27:26

1 Chronicles 10:13-14


Isaiah 26:9, 30:21,  51:7

Ezekiel 36:27


John 14:15, 21 & 31

Acts 13:39


Romans 5:13, 7:7

Galatians 2:16 & 20-21, 3:10-11 & 19, 5:3-4

Philippians 3:9


Hebrews 10:16

1 John 5:2-3

2 John 6




5. So is the law good for us?



Deuteronomy 10:12-13


12And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all His ways,


and to love Him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,


13To keep the commandments of the LORD, and His statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?



--> We can’t get to heaven by trying to keep the law.


--> But doing our best to keep the law is actually GOOD FOR US.




Illustration


It’s like going on a car journey from A to B:






God’s law contains lots of good advice to keep us safe during our ‘Journey on earth' and to have a better life.


After all, God has infinite knowledge - so He knows what's best for us, much better than we do.


For example - imagine what a better place the world would be, if everyone did their best to obey the Ten Commandments! (Exodus 20:1-17)




Further reading


Exodus 18:16  (Moses knew about God’s laws before he received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai.)


Leviticus 26:1-39


Deuteronomy 4:8 & 40, 5:10 & 29-33, 6:1-3 & 17-19, 8:1, 11:8-9, 13-17 & 22-28

Deuteronomy 12:28, 17:18-20, 30:8-10 & 16, 32:46-47


Joshua 1:7-8


1 Kings 2:3, 3:14, 6:11-13, 8:61

2 Kings 10:31-33, 18:6-7


1 Chronicles 22:12-13, 28:7-8

2 Chronicles 6:16, 12:1-7, 17:3-6


Nehemiah 9:13-14


Psalms 1:1-3, 18:22, 19:7-11, 37:31, 78:5-8 & 32-33, 89:30-32


Psalms 103:17-18, 105:43-45, 106:3, 111:7-8, 112:1-3


Psalm 119:1-6, 35, 45, 48, 54, 70, 77, 92-94, 97-106, 111, 113, 119


Psalm 119: 127-131, 133, 135, 138, 140, 142-144, 151, 155, 159-176


Psalm 125:4-5


Proverbs 3:1-2 & 33, 7:1-2, 13:13, 15:9, 16:7, 19:16, 28:4, 7 & 9, 29:18


Ecclesiastes 12:13

Isaiah 5:24, 48:18 & 22, 51:7


Matthew 5:17-20

Luke 11:28, 16:17

John 8:11, 15:10, 17:6


Romans 3:31

1 Timothy 1:8-10

1 John 2:3-6, 3:24

Revelation 22:7, 9 & 14




6. What about good works - should we do them?



Ephesians 2:8-10


Verse 8

8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it (= our salvation) is the gift of God:


--> We’re freely saved by the grace (= undeserved favour) of God.




Verse 9

9Not of works, lest any man should boast.



Q - Why doesn’t God save us because of what we do / our good works?


A - Because we’d then become proud and boast of what we’ve done.


Further reading

'Pride & Humility message' on WholeCounselofGod.com




Verse 10

10For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained (= prepared for us in advance) that we should walk in them.



--> God does have good works for each of us to do.


--> So when we do them, we’re fulfilling God’s plan for our life - but these don’t save us.




Hebrews 13:16 ~ But to do good and to communicate (= to share / give) forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

--> When we do good works, God’s pleased - so He blesses us.




Here’s a simple example - I expect you can think of your own:








Further reading

Psalm 37:3

Proverbs 12:2


Matthew 5:14-16

Luke 14:12-14

John 8:29


Acts 9:36 & 39

Romans 4:2


1 Timothy 2:9-10, 5:9-10 & 25, 6:17-19

2 Timothy 3:16-17

Titus 1:16, 2:7, 3:1, 5 & 8


Hebrews 6:9-10, 10:24, 13:20-21

James 2:14-18


Revelation 2:2, 5, 9, 13, 19, 23 & 26, 3:1-2, 8 & 15, 14:13, 20:12-13




In the parable of the sheep & goats (Matthew 25:31-46) Jesus made it clear that once we're saved:






Paul said we shouldn’t just DO good works - we should do them ZEALOUSLY:


Titus 2:14 ~ Who (= Jesus) gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity,


and purify unto Himself a peculiar people (= a special people, belonging to Jesus), zealous of good works.




So we SHOULD DO good works.


But these DON'T SAVE US.




Let’s now look at more pictures of how we can't save ourselves.





7. Adam & Eve



The first mention of something in the Bible is often the key to understanding it. 



Here’s the first mention of how we need God to deal with our sins:



Genesis 2:16-17

16And the LORD God commanded the man (= Adam), saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:


17But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.




Genesis 3:6-10


Verse 6

6And when the woman (= Eve) saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise,


she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.


--> Adam & Eve disobeyed God = they sinned.




Verse 7

7And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.


--> Adam & Eve knew they’d sinned - they felt guilty & naked.


--> So they tried to cover themselves - by making clothes.




Verses 8-10

8And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day:

and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.


9And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?


10And he (= Adam) said, I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.



--> The clothing  which Adam & Eve had made wasn’t good enough to cover their sin.


--> They still felt guilty - so they hid from God.



This passage shows us that WE CAN'T get rid of our sin.




Q - So what did GOD DO?


A - Genesis 3:21

21Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.



--> God gave Adam & Eve clothes to cover their guilt.


--> To teach us: that ONLY HE can deal with our sins.




8. The Publican and the Pharisee



Luke 18:9-14



Verses 9-12

9And He (= Jesus) spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 


10Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican (= an unpopular tax collector for the Romans). 


11The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 


12I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.



(See the ‘Fasting’ & ‘Money’ messages on WholeCounselofGod.com)






Verse 13

13And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.



--> The publican knew he was a sinner.


--> So he asked God to forgive him.




Verse 14

14I tell you, this man (= the publican) went down to his house justified (= innocent / righteous) rather than the other:


for every one that exalteth himself (= lifts himself up) shall be abased (= humbled / brought low);


and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.




So Jesus taught:






Q - What is Grace?


A - When we get what we don't deserve.




Q - What is Mercy?


A - When we don't get what we do deserve.




Example

The thief nailed to the cross was completely unable to do any good works - and Jesus saved him!

(Luke 23:32 & 39-43)




Further reading

Psalm 5:7

Revelation 22:17




9. Unleavened bread



John 6:35 ~ And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life.


--> Jesus told us He’s the bread of life.




Have you noticed HOW MUCH the Bible says about UNLEAVENED BREAD?

(= Bread made without yeast)



This is partly because the Israelites had to leave Egypt quickly and had no time to leaven their bread.  (Exodus 12:33-34)



But this hurried departure is just a small practical detail - it doesn’t explain why God so emphasises unleavened bread in the Bible. 

 



For example


Exodus 23:15 ~ Thou shalt keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread: thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days …


--> The sacrifice of animals' blood in the Old Testament is a foreshadow / picture of the sacrifice of Jesus’ blood in the New Testament.


--> And in Exodus 23:18 God made it clear that there was to be no leavened bread  with the blood sacrifice:                            


Exodus 23:18 ~ Thou shalt not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread …




Q - Why did God say this?


A - Let's read Exodus 13:3 & 6-8



Verse 3

3And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; 


for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten.

…



Verses 6-8

6Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a Feast to the LORD.


7Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters.


8And thou shalt shew thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the LORD did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt.




MEANING



A. For Israelites - the unleavened bread is a reminder that:






B. For Christians - the unleavened bread is a reminder that:






Which explains what happened at the Last Supper - Luke 22:



Verse 1

1Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover.

…


Verse 7

7Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the Passover must be killed.

…


Verse 19

19And He (= Jesus) took bread (= unleavened bread), and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is My body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of Me.



--> Jesus:






Q - So what does it mean if we try to ‘add leaven’ to the bread?



A - It means:






Other religions believe that we need to do things to reach heaven - but we don’t.


None of us can do enough good things to get there.




We just need to  ACCEPT THE FREE GIFT - of Jesus paying the penalty for our sins on the cross.


He’s the TRUE unleavened bread.

 



Mark 10:15 ~ Verily I (= Jesus) say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.



--> Small children can’t give - they can only receive.


--> We need to be like them!



 

Luke 12:32 ~ Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.


 

John 6:33 ~ For the Bread of God is He which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.




Further reading

Exodus 12:15-20, 20:2, 29:46, 34:18 & 25


Leviticus 2:11, 6:16-17, 8:26-28, 10:12-13


Numbers 6:13-17, 28:16-17

Deuteronomy 16:1-4


2 Chronicles 30:13 & 21, 35:17-18

Psalms 80:7-8, 81:10


Matthew 16:5-6 & 12

Luke 18:17 & 26-27

John 6:48, 50-51 & 58


Romans 3:23-28

Galatians 1:6-7, 5:4 then 9

2 Timothy 1:9




10. Jacob & Esau



Isaac & Rebekah had twin sons: 


Genesis 25:27-28


27And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning (= skilled) hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.


28And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.



--> Esau loved to: hunt / do things / bring home the meat.


--> In contrast: there was nothing special about Jacob - he didn’t do much, but Rebekah loved him anyway.




You and I are like Jacob:






Let’s see what happened to Jacob & Esau later on in  Genesis chapter 27



Verses 1-5

1And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see,


he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he (= Esau) said unto him, Behold, here am I.


2And he (= Isaac) said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death:


3Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take (= catch) me some venison; 


4And make me savoury (= tasty / appetising)  meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.


5And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.



--> Isaac asked Esau to go hunting and bring him back some meat.


--> Isaac would then bless Esau.




Verses 6-10

6And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying, 


7Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death.


8Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee. 


9Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth: 


10And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.



--> Rebekah loved Jacob so much - she was willing to do whatever it took: to make him look good to his father.








Verses 11-12

11And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man: 


12My father peradventure (= perhaps) will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.


--> Jacob thought his father would curse him - because of his wrongdoing.




Verse 13

13And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them.



--> Rebekah was willing to take the curse for Jacob’s sin on herself.


--> Just like Jesus does for us:


Galatians 3:13 ~ Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.

 



Let’s read on and see what happened in  Genesis 27:14-23


14And he (= Jacob) went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved.


15And Rebekah took goodly raiment (= clothing) of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son:


16And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck:


17And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.


18And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son? 


19And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest (= told) me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.


20And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the LORD thy God brought it to me. 


21And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not.


22And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he (= Isaac) felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. 


23And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands: so he blessed him.



--> Rebekah clothed Jacob - so Jacob could receive his father’s blessing.


--> This is a picture of how JESUS CLOTHES US WITH HIS PERFECTION.




So when God the Father looks at us:






Here’s a good way to remember what GRACE means to us:


God’s


Riches


At


Christ’s


Expense




Further reading

Genesis 4:2-5

Genesis 22:8


Psalms 37:39, 111:4


Isaiah 54:17, 61:10

Ezekiel 44:17-18


Jonah 4:2

Zechariah 3:1-5


Luke 1:76-79, 9:56, 19:10


John 1:16-17


Acts 10:15 / 11:9; 15:11, 18:27


Romans 4:6-7, 5:15-21, 9:30  then 33


1 Corinthians 1:3-4 & 8, 15:9-10


2 Corinthians 5:18-21, 8:9


Ephesians 2:4-7

Colossians 1:21-22


1 Timothy 1:12-16

Titus 2:11, 3:7


Hebrews 2:9, 10:10 & 14, 13:12


1 Peter 1:9-11 & 13


1 John 3:5

Jude 24




11. SUMMARY - What have we learnt today?



A. We should do good works - but these don’t get us to heaven.




B. We should also try to follow the guidance in the Old Testament law, particularly the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3-17):





Q - Why doesn't trying to keep the law get us to heaven?


A - Because God’s standards are so high that we can’t live up to them.




C. We also studied six vivid pictures God has given us - to hammer home the message of Grace:











Q - What’s the big learning point for us?


A - The sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross is our ONLY way to heaven.




Amen