1. or Why the Doctrine of Sin is Good News 1 John 1:8-9
The Good News about Sin or
Why the Doctrine of Sin is Good News
1 John 1:8-9

2. 1 John 1:9 ESV If we confess our sins,
he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

3. 1 John 1:9 ESV If we confess our… he is faithful and just to…
and to cleanse us from…

4. 1 John 1:9 ESV
 If we…
he is…
and to…

5. Three Verbs
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John 1:9 ESV
Confess: “Say with.” Agreeing with a statement that has previously been made by someone else.
Forgive: To pardon an offense or an offender.
Cleanse: Rid (a person, place, or thing) of something seen as unpleasant, unwanted, or defiling.

6. The Cruel Kindness
of Cheap Grace

7. What is “Cruel Kindness”?
Encouraging harmful behavior that a person enjoys.
Why would we do that?
Or expressing approval of something someone has done that we know is wrong/harmful: blessing a person’s sin.

8. The Parents Who Flip-Flopped
“We believed abortion was wrong. But now that our daughter has had an abortion, we have to support it.”
Can we support a person who is making bad choice without blessing those choices?

9. We Are to Hate the Sin Because It Harms the One Who Does It

10. “Christian” Germany in Hitler’s Day

16. Counterfeit Faith James 2:17-19 NLT
Faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. Counterfeit faith=Cheap grace

18. Entering the Kingdom
In the Gospels, we find seven “entrance” sayings—sayings where Jesus described what is involved in entering the kingdom of God (or, as evangelicals might say, “being saved”). Matthew 5:20: “For I tell you than unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teacher of the law, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 7:21: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father in heaven.” Matthew 18:3: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

20. What Is Real Faith?
The faith through which we are saved is not simply believing in God, or believing Jesus is God, or believing Jesus died for my sins. Even the demons know all that. It is entrusting my whole life to God. (“Trust” and “faith” are the same word in the Bible.) It is a commitment to follow Jesus. When we commit to follow Jesus, they way we live is transformed. We will still stumble and fall short at times, but when they do, we will be grieved by our sin, seeking forgiveness and cleansing, because the purpose of our hearts is to follow Jesus.

21. Romans 5:21-6:7 NLT
21 So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our
6 Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? 2 Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? 3 Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? 4 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.
5 Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. 6 We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. 7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.

22. 1 John 3:8-9 ESV
8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.

23. So…Can We Live without Sinning?
When we become followers of Christ, our identity is change from “sinners” to “saints” (holy ones). We no longer intentionally live a lifestyle of sin. However, we will still slip and stumble at times. And God will continue to transform our minds, revealing to us sins we were not aware of that he want to cleanse (addictions, impatience, worry, unforgiveness, etc.) As he reveals these to us, if we are truly followers of Christ, we will confess them and ask him to cleanse us of these sins.

24. 1 John 2:1 NLT
“My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.”

25. Luke 24:47 NLT
It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: 'There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’
Repent: To turn from sin and dedicate oneself to the amendment of one's life.

27. How Are We Saved?

28. John 3:16

29. The Great Blondin Charles Blondin 1824-1987
French tightrope walker & acrobat
Walked on tightrope across Niagara
Falls over 300 times.

30. What is Believing? “…whoever is trusting in him…” Not,
“Do I believe God can save me?”
but
“Have I put my whole life in his hands?”

31. What Is True Faith?
True faith is entrusting my life to God. It includes a commitment to follow God. We will still slip up at times, but the deepest commitment of our heart is to do God’s will, not our own. James is saying that if my actions don’t show that I am committed to following God, it reveals that I don’t have true faith. True faith changes the whole direction and focus of my life. Our own actions can’t save us (get us across Niagara Falls). God is the One who gets us from one side to the other. But unless we have real faith (get in the wheelbarrow), we can’t get from one side to the other.

32. The Cruel Kindness of Cheap Grace
The message of cheap grace is a cruel kindness because it produces a “Christian” culture where actually following Jesus is exceptional, not normal. (Like Nazi Germany, where Bonhoeffer wrote.) When we “bless people in their sins” (trying to be nonjudgmental) they are less likely to find freedom from slavery to sin. And when they do not, they cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.

33. 1 John 1:9 ESV If we confess our sins,
he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

34. 1 John 1:9 ESV If we confess our… he is faithful and just to…
and to cleanse us from…

35. 1 John 1:9 ESV
 If we…
he is…
and to…

36. Table Sharing How would you explain the idea of “cheap grace”?
Do you feel that the idea of cheap grace is a “cruel kindness”?  Why or why not?
3. What is costly grace?  Do you think that costly grace grows out of harshness or kindness?