The Key of Grace
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:13-19
Jesus told us that it was HIS JOB to build the church! Our job is to learn how to use the KEYS that we might ENTER the Kingdom. As we focus on building heaven’s culture on the earth, He will build His church with us and around us.
What is the Kingdom?
The Kingdom is the realm that Jesus rules over in righteousness. (Hebrews 1:8-9) It exists uncontested in heaven, and our job is to invite it and establish it “on earth…”
The Kingdom is the realm of our truest citizenship. (Phil. 3:20)
The Kingdom has a culture that is antithetical to the earthly realm. (Romans 14:17)
The Kingdom has ALREADY come but is NOT YET fully here. We are living in the collision between 2 empires. One day, our King will return. His rule and reign will be established upon the earth for all to see.
How do we access the Kingdom?
1. First, we must be BORN AGAIN.
The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. John 1:9-13
Through faith, we receive Jesus as King and surrender to His rule. We transfer our allegiance to Him.
2. Then, we embark on a lifelong journey of learning how to USE THE KEYS.
Those who have been reborn through the blood of Jesus have had their citizenship transferred to the realm of heaven. We become ambassadors of this inbreaking Kingdom and get to spend our lives representing its culture and contending for its full manifestation. Discipleship is simply learning the culture of heaven and growing into spiritual maturity by learning to use the keys that Jesus gave us.
The Keys are spiritual truths. These keys are not carnal, earthly principles. They are heavenly, spiritual realities that we must learn to access by faith.
We find these keys in the teachings of Jesus. His sermons and His parables contain a treasury of Kingdom Keys that gives us access into the unshakable nature of His Kingdom.
The Key of Grace
Story #1
John 8:2-11 // Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
Pharisee - a member of an ancient Jewish group or sect distinguished by strict observance of the traditional and written law. The word in Hebrew means “separated ones” - they had a unique interpretation of the Torah, which set them apart from other Jewish groups and from Gentiles
The spirit of the Pharisees emphasizes legalism, works-righteousness, and adding requirements to the Gospel. For the sake of our message today, we are going to call this the “Religious Spirit”. Most of Jesus’ conflicts were not with the pagan leaders of Rome; they were with the self-righteous Jewish leaders whose emphasis on self-righteousness alienated anyone who had seemed to have fallen short of their standards. They trusted (or boasted) in their own righteousness, then made themselves the religious police, whose job was to apprehend, accuse and execute sinners (the common people who were not as holy and set apart as they were). The problem was not that they cared about righteousness; it was that they pursued righteousness as if it were based on their works.
Romans 9:30-32 // What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone.
Speaking of stones… “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”
Romans 3:21-25 // But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
Grace - Used of the kindness of a master toward his inferiors or servants, and so especially of God toward men; specifically, it is the undeserved gift of righteousness that can only be received by faith
Ephesians 2:8-9 // By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Story #2
Luke 18:9-14 // He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Romans 4:1-8 // What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”
What COUNTS towards my righteousness?
The Righteousness of RELIGION
The Righteousness of FAITH
Rests on works and self-effort
Rests on grace and surrender (Rom. 3:22)
Keeps a record of your wrongs
Cancels your record of debt (Col. 2:13)
Counts sin against you
Counts Jesus’s righteousness for you (Rom. 4:1-8)
Exposes and condemns
Covers and forgives (John 8:2-11)
Curses you
Blesses you (Gal. 3:10-14)
Casts stones in judgment
Removes condemnation (Rom. 8:1)
Kills you
Gives life (2 Cor. 3:6; Rom. 5:17)
The Key of Grace makes you like Jesus; the religious spirit makes you like the Pharisees.
Galatians 5:2-9 // Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. 7 You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion is not from him who calls you. 9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump.
The leaven of the Pharisees was their teaching and hypocrisy. (Luke 12:11, Matt. 16:11-12)
A little leaven leavens the whole lump…
A little bit of self-rightouesness…
A little bit of legalism…
A little bit of the religious, watchful spirit…
A little bit of comparison…
It’s small, but it’s corrosive. It shifts trust from Jesus to yourself. It produces pride (if you are good) or shame (if you can never measure up). It undermines the Gospel at its root.
But the cross confronts human pride. It kills any ground for boasting in self.
Galatians 6:14-15 // But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.
We live in a region where the spirit of the Pharisees is alive and well. This means that we can easily and unintentionally be lured into this way of thinking. This can unknowingly creep into our faith and spirituality, and like leaven, slowly spread into all of life.
The Key of Grace removes our ground of boasting in self and breaks this stronghold.