Sermon Notes

God’s Rescuing Grace to a Nation

Jonah 1:1-2 | The word of the LORD came to Jonah: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”

Nahum 3:19 | All who hear the news about you clap their hands at your fall, for who has not felt your endless cruelty?

• God’s rescuing grace always involves a calling out of ruin, and a calling forth into relationship.

God’s Rescuing Grace for All People

Romans 3:9-20 | Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. 10 As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” 13 “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The poison of vipers is on their lips.” “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 ruin and misery mark their ways, 17 and the way of peace they do not know.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” 19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.

Romans 3:21-25 | 21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith.

• In the Gospel God announces to us that, through the finished work of Christ, we can move from spiritual ruin to spiritual rescue.

Ephesians 2:8 | 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

• We must realize our ruin.
• We must repent amidst our ruin.
• We must receive God’s grace that rescues us from our ruin.