Tabor Baptist Church

Introduction

• Reading v9-11
• v10 - a great affirmation
• Paul is writing to Christians in Corinth who have experienced all sorts of problems
• He is reminding them of the Gospel he preached to them (v2)
• He reminds them of the essential elements of this gospel (v3-4)
• That Christ died, was buried, was raised on the third day - all according to the Scriptures
• He wants to confirm them in their faith
• Paul adds an autobiographical note about his conversion, call and labour as an apostle
• He had been saved by the same gospel he preached to them

All of Grace

• Paul's conversion was all of grace
• Remember what Paul was like before hand
• He was a blasphemer, a violent man
• He was persecuting the church
• He was doing everything possible to oppose the name of Jesus Christ
• Breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples - Acts
• The road to Damascus experience
• The Lord had mercy on him
• He was the last of the apostles (v8)
• He was one abnormally born / born out of due season
• He was alive - but only just

Confidence in God's Grace

• He calls himself the least of the apostles
• He knows he is not inferior to the other apostles
• He had been a persecutor of the church
• His conversion was entirely of God's grace
• Yet he has confidence about God's call for him
• God changed him from being an enemy to proclaiming the gospel of salvation
• In fact at first others did not believe his conversion
• We need grace to accept what we are in light of what we were
• Paul had to be changed/converted
• Grace overcomes
• God no longer remembers our sin, but we may remember them
• We may have a continuing sense of unworthiness
• Religion is often the enemy of grace
• This was the case with Paul
• Paul humbled himself
• Example of John the Baptist
• Grace keeps us humble

Grace is not welcomed by all

• Example of the elder brother and the labourers in the Vineyard
• How do we see people around us?
• Do we sit in judgment over them?
• Do we say 'there but for the grace of God go I?'
• Consider Saul of Tarsus - changed by God
• God condescends to those who are conscious / overwhelmed by their sin
• Paul considered himself faultless as a religious person
• Paul saw himself the worst of sinners when he was converted
• 1 Timothy 1:12-17 – It was all of God's doing that he was changed

Continuing Grace

• Paul's call and conversion were all of God's grace
• He still depends on God's grace
• We depend on God's grace
• Many accusations came against Paul
• Example of being at Stephen's feet
• We are what we are because of the grace of God
• Our lives changes when we become a Christian - examples
• Still we depend on God's grace
• We have doubts
• Paul had doubts
• We may have a growing consciousness of failing and sin
• We fall short
• We need to be reminded of the gospel
• This is the basis of our assurance
• 2 Tim 1:12
• Hebrews 10:19-23
• The more that happens, the more we need to lean on God's grace
• Our confidence is in the grace of God

Works of Grace

• Paul's gospel work - was all of grace
• God's grace was not without effect
• Paul writes in 2 Corinthians of all the things he suffered
• Yet God's grace enabled him to do these things
• 1 Cor 3:10
• We may hide behind excuses
• Are we deadly serious about what we are doing?
• Grace is a powerful motivating force
• It gives us every reason to serve Him
• It is not about punishing people in the future for things that they do not do
• A true power of grace is that we want to serve God with everything we have
• Our response is to give Him everything we are
• Quote from song 'Take my life'
• We want to give God the very best of what we are
• Like in the Old Testament - a sacrifice without spot or blemish

Closing Remarks

•  The grace of God was in Paul (v10)
• This grace will bring us to completion
• We need to ask God how we should serve Him
• God was working in Paul
• God is working in us
• Matt 25:21 - we will blessed in God
• Quote from song 'And can it be'
• We will be there because of God's grace