"Climate of Acceptance"
C.R.O.S.S.C.R.E.E.K.
Part1 of 10
Mt. 9:9-13 & Selected
I. HOW CAN WE BE ACCEPTED BY GOD?
We are NOT accepted –
By GOOD WORKS
By MORAL LIVING
By JOINING A CHURCH
By BEING BAPTIZED
By MONEY, POWER, FAME
Gen 4:7 "If you do what is right, will you not be accepted"
WE ALL WANT TO BE ACCEPTED!
1. God accepts us because of CHRIST.
Rom 5:8 "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
2. God accepts us WHERE WE ARE
1 Timothy 1:15 "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners-- of whom I am the worst."
1Co 6:9-11 "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
3. OBEDIENCE to Christ ALLOWS us to accept others.
Rom 15:7 "Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God."
II. THE IMPORTANCE OF ACCEPTING OTHERS.
1. Acceptance is not APPROVAL.
Mt. 11:18-19 "For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners."
1 Co. 9:22 " To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some."
2. Acceptance DEMONSTRATES God’s Love.
Mt. 9:36-38 "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
ACCEPTANCE IS DANGEROUS WHEN WE CONDONE SINFUL BEHAVIOR!
3. Acceptance results in CHANGED LIVES.
Rom 14:1 "Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters."
John 4:39-41 "Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I ever did." So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers."
2 Corinthians 5:19 "that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation."
Question: What more could God do to help you grow in Him?
Accept others as Christ accepted you!