Foundations of Faith: Justifying Grace

Feeling Footloose and Frisky,

a Feather-brained Fellow Forced his Fond Father

to Fork over the Farthings

and Flew Far to Foreign Fields

where he Frittered his Fortune,

Feasting Fabulously with Faithless Friends.

Fleeced by his Fellows, and Facing Famine,

he Found himself a Feed Flinger in a Filthy Farmyard.

Fairly Famishing, he Fain would have Filled his Foolish Frame

with Foraged Food from Fodder Fragments.

“Phooey!

My Father’s Flunkies Fare Far Finer,”

the Frazzled Fugitive Forlornly Fumbled,

Frankly Facing Facts.

Frustrated by Failure and Filled with Foreboding,

he Fled Forthwith to his Family.

Falling at his Father’s Feet

he Forlornly Fumbled,

“Father, I’ve Flunked and Foolishly Forfeited Family Favor.”

The Farsighted Father,

Forestalling Further Flinching,

Flagged to the Flunkies

to Fetch a Fatling From the Flock

and Fix a Feast.

The Fugitive’s Fault-Finding Brother

Frowned on the Fickle Forgiveness of the Flunky,

but the Faithful Father Figured…

“Filial Fidelity is Fine,

but the Fugitive is Found!

What Forbids Fervent Festivity?

Let Flags be Unfurled, Let Fanfare Flare!”

Moral of the Story:

The Father’s Forgiveness Formed the Foundation

for the Former Fugitive’s Future Faith and Fortitude!

Good morning, Church! I hope you were able to follow along with that tongue-twister!

We’re in the midst of a series called, Foundations of Faith, specifically talking about John Wesley’s thoughts on grace - the undeserved, unmerited, and loving action of God we receive through the ever-present Holy Spirit. Grace is God’s unconditional, free gift to us. In fact, the root meaning of the word grace is “gift.” In your bulletin, along with your Sermon Quiz, you’ll find our Scripture memory verse from Ephesians, which explains grace beautifully: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the GIFT of God — not by works, so that no one can boast.” Grace is God's presence to create, heal, forgive, reconcile, and transform human hearts.

Last week, Erik shared with us the story of God’s Prevenient Grace. If you haven’t heard that message, I encourage you to sign on to our website, or download the podcast, because it was by far the best explanation I have ever heard on prevenient grace.

Erik told us that wherever God is present, there is grace! Grace brought creation into existence. Grace birthed human beings. From the moment of our conception, the Holy Spirit continually pursues us in order to lead us into a personal relationship with Him. Grace bestowed on us the divine image, and redeemed us in Jesus. Grace is ever-transforming the whole creation into the realm of God's reign of compassion and justice, generosity and peace.

Erik also taught us that John Wesley used a house as a metaphor to illustrate grace. Think of a huge antebellum style home with a wraparound porch, suitable for as many guests as you can possibly imagine. Wesley described prevenient grace as the porch on a house. It is where we prepare to enter the house. BUT, there is more to a house than the porch! We must cross the threshold and enter the house to fully experience life with Christ!

Which leads us to today -- prevenient grace prepares us for justifying grace. Justifying grace is walking through the doorway into new identity and new creation. Wesley said this: Justification is another word for pardon. It is the forgiveness of all our sins, and our acceptance with God. It is the assurance of forgiveness that comes from repentance, and turning toward God's gracious gift of new life.

Wesley considered justifying grace the doorway into the house of God's salvation. It’s our being reconciled and realigned with God through our acceptance of God's atoning act in Jesus Christ. As we cross over the threshold, He clothes us in our identity as beloved sons and daughters, and incorporates us into the body of Christ, the church.

Now, if you’re new to Wesleyan theology, like me, I need something to make this a bit simpler! By now, you know that I love telling stories. Perhaps it’s my way of connecting to Jesus, because He, too, loved storytelling. In fact, He loved storytelling so much that the Gospels are full of stories to teach us about the Kingdom of Heaven, how to live our lives, how much the Father loves us, and how God’s grace transforms our hearts. We call these stories parables.

And quite possibly, my favorite parable Jesus told was the story of the tongue-twister! Rather, the parable of the Lost Son, the Prodigal Son. And while you may have heard this story throughout your life, I want you take a minute and breathe in the images Christ is placing before you as you hear these words anew from Luke chapter 15:

A certain man had two sons. The younger son said to his father, “Father, give me my share of the inheritance.” Then the father divided his estate between them. Soon afterward, the younger son gathered everything together and took a trip to a land far away. There, he wasted his wealth through extravagant living.

When he had used up his resources, a severe food shortage arose in that country, and he was hungry. He took a job on a local farm, feeding pigs. He was so hungry, but no one gave him anything. He started to eat from the pig trough. When he came to his senses, he said aloud, “How many of my father’s hired hands have more than enough food, but I’m starving to death! I will get up and go to my father, and say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son. Take me on as one of your hired hands.’” So, he got up and went to his father.

“While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with compassion. His father ran to him, hugged him, and kissed him. Then his son said, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Quickly, bring out the best robe and put it on him! Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet! Fetch the fattened calf and slaughter it. We must celebrate with feasting because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life! He was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.

Henri Nouwen is, by far, my most favorite author. In fact, I love his words so much, we’ve created a sermon series for July based on Henri Nouwen’s book - Life of the Beloved. But it wasn’t until I read another Nouwen book, The Return of the Prodigal Son, that I put myself into the parable we just read, and I truly began to see God’s grace poured out on me. In this book, Nouwen tells of being magnetically drawn to the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia, where Rembrandt’s incredible painting - The Return of the Prodigal Son – hangs. Nouwen spent many hours sitting in front of this painting, soaking in the love, forgiveness, and grace found in the parable of the Prodigal Son. Once upon a time, I, too, used to travel the world, and in 2014, I found myself standing, for the first time, in the Hermitage in front of this massive 8-foot by 6-foot painting… with thousands of my closest friends! 

Each time I have wandered through the Hermitage, I am captivated by the depiction of the father and the grace he so freely gives. It’s the only piece of art that has ever caused tears to form in my eyes. Even now, I stare at a replica hanging in my dining room, to feel Christ’s love, grace, and forgiveness wash over me. I can feel justifying grace jump off the canvas:

The consequences of the son’s decision to separate himself from his father are evident. It’s hard to recognize the pale, emaciated, shattered man returning to the father. We don’t know how long he was gone, but I imagine when he left, he was in his youth – a reckless pleasure-seeker, a gambler, a spendthrift - who asked his father for his share of the inheritance and squandered it away, down to the very last coin. He wasted what he had been freely given. He sank to the lowest point he had ever known. What has become of his self-confidence and fine clothing? Everything impermanent has slipped from him like an empty husk.

We find God’s grace when something reveals to us our weakness and insufficiency, our sin and neediness. Don’t we see that with the son? At the cost of his suffering and loss, the son gained insight. We can feel his conviction. Entering his father’s house - miserable, sick, and exhausted - he falls on his knees before his parent, who bends over him, full of love and forgiveness. In the smoky twilight of the space, the old man’s face shines like a star in the night sky: the light of consolation descends on the son. The red wrap over the old man’s shoulders forms a sort of canopy above the unhappy wanderer. And the astonished witnesses look on in silence.

The Father slid a ring onto the son’s finger, which was a sign of right standing with the father. He called for the servants to clothe the boy with the best robe, a sign of the lavish gift of God’s love, clothing us all of our lives. And then they killed the fattened calf, a sign of provision, celebration, and feasting. While the bystanders may not be rejoicing, the Father in Heaven is. The lost has been found.

The son did nothing to deserve this celebration, other than come home. There is absolutely nothing you or I can do to win God’s grace. Responding to grace is an act of faith. We simply have to confess and say, “yes.” For, as Steven read earlier in Romans chapter 10, verses 9-13: 

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile — the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”


His father never stopped waiting for him. His father welcomed him home with great joy!

It is a gift to the son. The son does nothing to affect his salvation - that is God's work through Jesus and nothing else. But the son has finally approached the door to the house, where the father dwells, and has turned the door-knob, because the father has bidden him to do so. He has made him want to open the door through this unending love He has for the son. The son is now responding to the work of the father - accepting the gift of salvation, and saying "yes" to God's call. We can see the conversion of the son, as he is justified by the Father.

As I sat in front of the painting by myself, I felt the Father’s hands upon my shoulders. I, too, have been that lost son. Most of you know my story. I grew up in a Quaker church. It was actually the church my great-great-great-great grandfather planted when he brought his family from England, through Massachusetts, and settled in High Point, North Carolina. So, there was never a time I did not know WHO God is. My grandparents, pastors, Church, Sunday School, and Bible School teachers all planted seeds. They prepared me with knowledge. They taught me who God is. In fact, these sweet mentors had me reciting Bible verses and singing Bible songs before I could do much else. Jesus Loves Me was the first song I ever learned… Though my dad would argue he taught me the North Carolina Tarheels fight song first! 

There was never a time I did not know God. But it wasn’t until I had reached a particularly low point in life, when I had been running from the call to ministry, feeling the consequences of my disobedience, that I was convicted to confess to Him: “Lord, I am Yours. I am Your Beloved Child. Use me. I give my life to You. I CHOOSE to follow You and ACCEPT Your grace.” That night, everything changed. In that moment, He didn’t condemn me; He welcomed me. He loved me. Just like the lost son, I felt the hands of Christ on my shoulders, and I fell into His grace and mercy.

Many times, over the years, I have slipped and fallen back into a sinful rut, but I praise God that His grace has been there to pick me up, one more time, to restore me to an eternal relationship -- a relationship with the One who knows and loves me better than I know and love myself. In scripture, this spiritual experience of justifying grace is also known as -- salvation, healing, conversion, having one’s sins forgiven, and being born again. Salvation is instantaneous AND continuous. It’s also progressive; so, it’s correct to say: I was saved by grace, I am saved by grace, and I will be saved by grace. Like the Prodigal’s Father, the Lord will always be waiting with open arms to welcome us home.

Maybe today, you’re stuck. You’ve heard of this great gift of Christ’s love and forgiveness, but you don’t believe it’s for you. You’ve taken your inheritance of eternal life, and you’ve chosen to live the way of the world. You, too, are lost.

Maybe today, you’re in the pig pen. Everything around you is crashing down. You’re slowly becoming aware of your condition and feel the need to humbly repent.

Maybe today, you’re on the journey home to the Father, the good and beautiful God, but you’re nervous and anxious, wondering, can He really forgive a sinner like me?

Maybe today, you’re arriving home, and when you see your father, the one who loves you unconditionally, you fall to your knees in front of Him. Immediately, immediately, acceptance, love, and restoration flood over you.

He justifies you, treating you just as if you had never sinned.

The waiting father has never stopped, and will never stop, waiting for you! God, through Jesus Christ, has already done the work of justification for you. All you have to do is accept it! You have to walk up to the door of that beautiful antebellum house, and not just knock on it, but put forth your hand, and turn the door-knob, and open it. The door isn’t locked! It’s ready for you to say, "I have sinned and fallen short. I am tired of living in the darkness. And I know there's no light anywhere but with You - my Lord and my God!” All of that happens because the Father has gone before us. He’s done the work of justification in and throughJesus. Now, He is just waiting for us to appropriate that action already taken, into our own lives, and begin to love in harmony with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Wherever you are today, know this truth: the Father is waiting with open arms. Whether it’s been five minutes, five years, or forever, He is waiting to simply say, welcome home.