Good morning and welcome in everyone. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.
We’ve got a very old 17 ft catamaran that somebody sold to us extremely cheap. You could tell that at one time it had run into some rocks, as there was a big hole in the side that had been temporarily repaired. When we first got it home, there were numerous things that needed to be fixed in order to make it seaworthy. One night, I brought the sails into the living room, and my wife and I spent the evening sewing and repairing them. I replaced all of the old ropes because they were beginning to rot and decay. One of the pontoons leaked terribly, and I had to do some major fiberglass work to take care of the issues. I had to repair some of the cables and completely rebuild the mount for one of the rudders. After testing it on our small little lake and making sure that it didn’t leak a drop of water, I went to the hardware store and bought a gallon of paint. I’m glad I bought so much, because it was going to need quite a bit to completely restore it. Over the next few days, I brushed over all of its old marks and defects, until it finally looked brand new once again.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
Sometimes it only takes a little paint to touch up smaller areas, but depending on how much needs to be covered, it may require a lot more. Each of us are the same way. Some of us may have only sinned a few times in our lives, while others could write a book. Whether it’s a few or it’s many, God has a lot of Grace available to cover them all up. It all comes down to how much you are going to need.
“But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” Ephesians 4:7
Some of the recipes in your kitchen may require a lot more water than others. Your car needs a lot more gasoline than your lawn mower in order to run properly. An adult needs more food than an infant does in order to survive. Some people need a much larger portion of God’s grace than others. One such woman, whose sins were many, found the grace that she needed in order to cover her sinful past.
Luke 7 ⁴¹ There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. ⁴² And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? ⁴³ Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. ⁴⁴ And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. ⁴⁵ Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.
⁴⁶ My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. ⁴⁷ Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. ⁴⁸ And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. ⁴⁹ And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? ⁵⁰ And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.
When we look at the life of the Apostle Paul, it gives us great hope. God took a man who was a complete unbeliever, and completely forgave him of his entire past. He felt that he had sinned more than anybody else, but when he was baptized, God washed them all away. This resulted in a brand new direction and purpose in his life.
1 Timothy 1 ¹² And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; ¹³ Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. ¹⁴ And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. ¹⁶ Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.
Paul was so convicted of his past life that he didn’t even want to be addressed as an Apostle.
1 Corinthians 15 ⁹ For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
When you think about it, who better to teach automotives than somebody who has been a mechanic for 40 years? Who better to teach you about carpentry, then somebody who completely understands it? Who better to preach about God’s grace, then someone who has received a lot of it themselves? Many times, it is those who have required the most Grace, that God bestows many of His gifts upon, and ones that you would least expect.
1 Corinthians 1 ²⁶ For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
²⁷ But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; ²⁸ And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: ²⁹ That no flesh should glory in his presence.
Paul’s life was a gift to us all. He understood the love of Christ, and the incredible grace of God. Saul, the Pharisee of his past, became a forgotten shadow, as he stepped into the new creature that God had always planned for him to become.
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20
Sometimes people preach for all the wrong reasons. They do it to be seen, to wear a fancy robe, or have fancy credentials attached to their name. On the other hand, Paul was motivated by a sincere love for Christ and understood the manifold grace of God,
“As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” 1 Peter 4:10
Paul was a sinner who became a saint, which is the high calling of God for anyone who claims to be a Christian. To obtain eternal life it will require renouncing your past, and turning away from your sinful lives. Each of us can go through the same transformation that the Apostle did. We can become a new person than what we were in the past.
Like painting our old boat, God wants to cover our sins.
I guess it all comes down to….
….. How Much your Gonna Need
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️
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