1 Vision - Part 3 - 1 Percent

1 Mission 

1 Church

1 Percent

1 Person 

1 Mission: 

Love God 

Love People

Make Disciples

1 Church

we are united around the mission

1 Percent 

200 Baptisms

Ephesians 3:20-21

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.

If we set the goal of 200 baptisms we must understand what baptism is. 

• Simply put, baptism is a public statement of what you already believe. 
• So our focus is not on the act of baptism itself but on the faith and understanding of the individual being baptized. 

As we set a high goal for the number baptisms we will not lower our standards to be baptized. 

The most important question you will ever be asked…

Revelation 20:11-12

And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. 12I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books.

Let me simplify this passage for you.

God will ask you, (Insert name here) why should I let you into heaven? 

How will you answer? 

• I was a good person
• I went to church
• I took care of others
• I hope that my good deeds out weigh my bad deeds.

These are the answers provided by every major religion on the planet. 

…except Christianity.

In order to be baptized you must understand 4 words…

     1. Sin

     2. Law

     3. Grace

     4. Gospel

Romans 5:12-15

12When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. 13Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break. 14Still, everyone died—from the time of Adam to the time of Moses—even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come. 15But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many.

Sin

• Sin is more than behavior.
• Sin is a disease that causes brokenness.

Four Broken Relationships

1.    Our relationship with God.
2.    Our relationship with ourselves.
3.    Our relationship with each other. 
4.    Our relationship with creation.

So, what is the answer for the sin problem? 

There is an immediate and obvious solution for sin…Justice.

We like justice for “them.” I don’t like justice for “me.”

We want mercy for “us”

Mercy is withholding justice and therefore, is withholding the solution to sin. So, mercy cannot be the solution for sin.

To solve the problem of sin, justice must be satisfied. 

Maybe we can find another solution…

What if we could define sin and set some basic boundaries for our lives?

The Law

Old Testament Law

• The Ten Commandments 
• 4 to regulate our relationship with God
• 6 to regulate our relationship with each other.
• 615 laws in the Jewish culture
• The Rabbinic Halakah listed dozens and dozens of regulations for the Sabbath. One could take no more than 3000 steps, carry no more weight than half of a dried fig, and not spit onto the soft soil lest the spittle plow the ground. Dragging a stick on the ground was forbidden on the Sabbath as a form of plowing. Rubbing grain in one's hands was considered to be threshing and blowing the chaff was winnowing, both forbidden on the Sabbath.

The Law

• Be holy because I am holy - Lev. 21:8
• God’s standard for perfection. 
• The mirror that reflects the truth about who we really are.

The law demands justice.

So, how are you doing following the law?

This brings us to Grace

Grace is the most important word in the Bible. 

Grace offers love, allows for mercy, and satisfies justice. How? Through substitution.

Old Testament Sacrifice

• Leviticus 1-7 gives the rules for offerings/sacrifices
• If you sin, something must die to cover your mistake
• A temporary solution to a permeant problem.
• A reminder of Genesis 3 and a preview of what was to come. 

Romans 5:6-11

6When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. 7Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 8But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 9And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. 10For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

Jesus is our substitution. Jesus is the final satisfaction of justice. Jesus is the means of mercy. Jesus the ultimate display of God’s love. Jesus repairs the brokenness between us and God. Jesus restores our relationship with ourselves. Jesus reconciles our relationships with each other. Jesus will rebuild the brokenness in creation. Jesus is the savior we have been looking for since Adam left the intimacy of the garden. 

Jesus is the good news, the euangeliōn (you-an-gel-leon), the Gospel! 

Acts 2:38-39

Peter replied (after preaching a similar message), “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away—all who have been called by the Lord our God.”

I Have Decided…

… to put my faith in Jesus and give him authority over my life.