Touched By His Grace

Randall Caselman
Bella Vista Church of Christ
July 7, 2002 A.M.

Touched By His Grace

Reading - Luke 7.36-50

I can imagine that she didn't slept well.
As the sun came up, uncertainty still filled her mind.
Was she going to go to Jesus... Thank Him for what He had done for her?... Or ignore Him?
I will go... I won't go... I must respond to His grace gift.
But I don't belong with that group of people.
Back and forth this lady dealt with her indecision.

Meanwhile... Across town... In an upscale neighborhood of new homes with paved streets... Simon the Pharisee was also up early. He was getting ready for a party.... A big social event at his house. The Rabbi... The newest teaching rage... Jesus of Nazareth... Was coming to His house for dinner. Simon knew that... Other Pharisees... The religious community... High Jewish officials... Would be watching and listening to his house guest.

There would be... A scrumptious meal... A time for questions... Some in-depth scriptural insights... Perhaps even a miracle or two. So with a wave of his hand, he dispatches his servants to the market... To the laundry... To household chores... Everything had to be just right for the big event.

Finally... She gathers up all the courage she can muster... Comes to a decision... I will go.

At Simon's house the guest began to arrive. They are greeted with:
- A kiss...
- A foot washing...
- And their heads are anointed with oil.
- Then they were escorted to a predetermined place at the banquet table.

Somehow... We are not sure whether by accident or intentional.... Jesus arrived without receiving the kiss... The foot-washing... Or anointing. So... As everyone took their places around the table...
- There was a lot of interesting conversation...
- Good food...
- And as you might have guessed... Jesus was the center of attention.

He must have held the guests in awe, as He answered questions on a variety of religious... political... and social issues.

As she arrived... She could hear voices inside... All male voices... She doesn't belong here.
- Wrong side of town...
- An all male gathering...
- A religious gathering at that.
She thinks... This is crazy... and almost decides to turn back.

But, driven by love... driven by His touch of grace... She pushes open the door...
- All eyes are on her...
- Conversation stops...
- Eating stops...
- You could heart a pin drop.
Everyone sits up straight... They are all staring at her.

She makes her way straight to Jesus... And humbly kneels before Him. She had this speech she had rehearsed over and over... But now the words would not come.
- Her face flushes...
- Her hands begin to shake...
- Tears start streaming down her cheeks....
What is she going to do now?

Even more embarrassing, her tears are falling on Jesus' feet. With nothing else available... She begins to wipe away the tears with her hair.
- Too embarrassed...
- Too ashamed...
- Too afraid...
To look up and approach his head... She breaks open an alabaster bottle. What was meant for a head anointing... Now becomes a foot washing. The smell of the perfumed oil instantly fills the room.

Now... Simon is a little nervous and anxious. He waits on Jesus to say something... To condemn this intruder. But nothing happens. All you can hear are her sobs. The moment is pregnant with possibilities... Somebody say something!! Simon thinks... If this Jesus were a true prophet... He would know what kind of woman this is and would...
- Stop her...
- Rebuke her...
- Condemn her...
- Have her escorted out of the room.
This woman is a sinful woman... A lady with a reputation. We can assume that everybody in the room knows her... And knows her sin. Simon is probably thinking... I am sure glad she didn't come over here and wash my feet. The other self-righteous guests were probably thinking the same thing. And Jesus knew just what they were thinking.

So... He interrupts the silence by saying... Simon... I want to tell you a story... There was a money lender... And two guys owed him money. One man owed him the equivalent of 50 days wages... two months. The other owed him 500 days wages... almost two years. Neither one of them could pay the debt. So... In his grace and mercy... The money lender forgave them both... Just canceled the debt. NOW... Tell me something Simon.....
- Which one of these two is most appreciative?
- Which one has the greatest love?
Simon almost choked... With eyes focused on the floor... Just above a whisper... We hear him mumble... Well... I guess... I suppose the one who was forgiven the greater debt.

Jesus looked at the woman... But He continues to talk to Simon.
Simon... Look at this woman... Do you see her?
- Of course I see the woman....
- Everybody sees her....
- We can't help but see her .....
- She is the problem...
- We wish we didn't see her.

No... Simon... Do you SEE this woman?
- Do you see that she is a person
- Do you see a soul created in God's image
- Do you see that she has value to God
- Do you see that in every way... She is like you Simon...

EXCEPT... EXCEPT... She is responding properly to ME... To My Touch of grace... I came into your house and... You didn't wash my feet... You didn't kiss me... You didn't anoint me... But this woman has not stopped doing all these things to me since she arrived in the room.

You see... Simon... She came here to worship Me... To thank Me... While you invited Me here to make a spectacle of Me... To use Me for your own interest and reputation. Turning to the woman... Jesus says... Your sins are forgiven... Your faith has saved you... Go in peace. NOW... The room is a-buzz with conversation and whispers. Who is this guy who thinks He can forgive sins?

Some attempt to link this narrative with that of Mary's anointing in John 12. But this can't be... One is at the beginning of His ministry, and the other is near the end. One takes place in Galilee, and the other in Bethany just outside of Jerusalem.
Truth is...
- We don't know who this lady was.
- We don't know where they met.
- We don't know what Jesus had done for her previously.
But something must have happened between them. Her life had been touched by the Master before this banquet feast. She had been touched by His GRACE.

Here it is audience... We have all been touched by God's grace... RIGHT?
- He makes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust... That include us.
- God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son... That includes us.
- While we were yet sinners Jesus died for us... Sinners... That includes me and you... RIGHT?

Titus tell us that the GRACE of God that brings SALVATION has appeared to all men. So... Then how are we to respond to His grace?

Note with me now... The CONTRAST between two very different hearts... Two different kinds of people... Simon and the sinful woman.

First... This woman let her heart be touched by Jesus.
Some of us... Here this morning... Are asking... WHY?
- Why get so carried away with Jesus.
- Why get so emotional about something He has done for us.
- After all... Religion is not worth being embarrassed over.

This is exactly why we don't walk church aisles...
- Submitting to New Testament baptism...
- Confessing our faults... Our sins... Seeking prayers and forgiveness.
- Or... Praising God for His grace.

This is exactly why we don't mention Jesus to our family... Our neighbor and friends. This is exactly why we preachers are among the righteous on Sundays, but live like the world during the rest of the week.

In 2 Corinthians 5.14-21 Paul says... For Christ's love compels us... Because we are convinced that He died for us all... And because He died for us all, those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died and was raised again.

Church... When our hearts are touched with what God... through Jesus... has done for us in making forgiveness and our eternal salvation possible, then we will be compelled to do everything... Everything God asked us to do.

Now contrast this to the heart of Simon.
Do you agree with me that it is Simon's head that gets touched more than his heart. Simon is a Pharisee...
- He knows the Book.
- He knows truth.
- He knows what God wants of a man.
But somehow truth, the word stay in his head... And never impacts his heart... Never changes his behavior... His life.

Perhaps this is our problem. Somehow, what we know to be truth... right... good... and pleasing to God must be translated from...
- What we know...
- To how we act... How we behave.

James tells us that when we know to do right and don't translate that knowledge into actions we sin... He that knows to do right and does it not sins. Church... Isn't it time we lived out... What we know within?

Secondly... Contrast how these two saw their condition before God.
This lady knows her sin... She is willing to acknowledge her fault. And in spite of her sins, she comes to honor Jesus out of pure motive. My good people... Until we are willing to admit our sins... We can never be saved.
- Some here this morning need to admit their sins and submit to New Testament baptism.
- Some need to confess their faults and ask for the prayers of the church.
- All of us need to see ourselves as the sinners we are. Sinners in constant need of His touch of Grace.

Simon and his guest never saw their own sins... Only those of the woman.
And church... Here is the sad part... As a result, they never saw their need for forgiveness. We must stop seeing the sins of others, and see ourselves as WE really are. We must stop seeing the sins of others as being worse than ours. We must know yhat when it comes to our relationship with God...
- The sin of the drunkard is no more serious than the sin of the gossip.
- The sin of adultery is no more serious than the sin of sowing discord.
- The sin of forsaking the assemblies is no more serious than our failure to visit the orphans and widows in their afflictions.

All sin has the same effect... It separates us from God. And that separation continues UNTIL... Until we properly respond to His grace.

Then... This woman wanted to be with Jesus regardless of the price.
Wherever He was... That is where she wanted to be. And whatever it cost, she was willing to pay the price... REGARDLESS of the...
- Discomfort...
- Inconvenience...
- Embarrassment...
- Humiliation...
She was compelled to honor His touch of grace.

God... Make this preacher like this lady... Help me honor you... Regardless of what others might think.

Jesus' biggest criticism of the Pharisees was that whatever they did religiously, they did to be seen of men... They were more concerned with appearances... Than with being right with God... SO!!..
- They prayed to be seen of men.
- They fasted to be seen of men.
- They gave alms to be seen of men.
- They came to worship to be seen of men.
- They desired high positions and front seats in the synagogue... To be seen of men. I think we can conclude this morning that Simon's motive for having Jesus as a guest in his home was not out of gratitude for His grace... But to be seen of men.

Question!!... Why are we here this morning?
- Are we here because He has touched us with his grace... And we want to worship Him,
- Or, just to be seen by others? Sobering question... Right?

Then there was her willingness to sacrifice.
Her attitude was that when it came to Jesus... No price was too high to pay. Her greatest possession was used to perfume His feet. Folk... When we are touched by His grace... Nothing will be withheld from Him.
- We will break open the alabaster box and give our greatest possession.
- Like the wise men of old... We will bring our gold... frankincense... and myrrh.
- Like Mary of Bethany... We will anoint Him with expensive nard.
- Like those Christians of Macedonia... We will give ourselves... We will surrender all.
When we are touched by grace we will become living sacrifices. Scripture concludes... We are not our own... We have been bought with a price... Therefore honor God.

You see... Simon and the Pharisees were into what I call... A religion of minimums. What we might call a checklist mentality. Just tell me what I MUST DO to be saved... and I'll do it.
- Must I attend Sunday evening services?
- Must I come to Bible class?
- Are Wednesday evenings optional?
- Is it ten percent that I must give.
- How many visits to the hospital or nursing home must I make?
- How many chapters a week?
- How many prayers a day?
This was exactly how the Pharisees of Jesus' day reasoned.

When we operate our religious activities out of a checklist mentality it results in self- righteousness... Always!!... Always!! We think we're OK, because we've met the minimum requirements. But when we respond to God's touch of grace... We understand that we can never do enough.

No!!... No... The Bible doesn't say anything about Sunday evening and Wednesday evening worship attendance... But it has a lot to say about total commitment. If we are really awestruck with God's grace... We will be here worshiping Him instead of operating out of a MINIMUM MENTALITY.

Then number five... This woman accepted Christ's forgiveness.
Look at verse 47... Her sins which are... (WHAT?)... MANY.
- God no longer winks at sin...
- Grace does not gloss over sins...
- Grace is not a license to sin.
- Grace does not mean that we can just do what we want without regard to God's will and word. Paul deals with this very thought in Romans 6, where he writes... "What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning... So that grace may increase?... By no means!... We died to sin... How can we live in it any longer?"

NOW... We don't know for sure what this lady's sins were... She was probably a prostitute. What we do know is that they were all forgiven... Regardless how many... Or how bad.
Church... This is good news for us.

- If this woman's immorality can be forgiven.
- If Paul's murdering Christians for their faith can be forgiven.
- If the Jews guilty of killing the Son of God can be forgiven.
Then any and all of our sins can be forgiven when plunged beneath the blood of Christ. Come now... Let us reason together, says the LORD... Though your sins are like scarlet... They shall be as white as snow... Though they are red as crimson... They shall be like wool.
Praise God for His amazing GRACE!

SAD... Isn't it that... Simon and his houseguest never received forgiveness and salvation... Because they never responded to God's touch of grace.

Well... We must close... But first... What is our proper response to God's grace?

We must have a broken heart... Broken because of our sin. David declared that... God is looking for a broken contrite heart. Our heart must be touched by what God has done and continues to do for us.

Our heart must be touched to the point that we will want to obey Jesus... follow Jesus.
John 14.23 has Jesus saying... If you love Me... You will obey My teaching... And My Father and I will come make our home with you.

We must be willing to deny self. Jesus said... If anyone would come after Me... He must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me..

We must accept His forgiveness. Folk... If we have sin in our life this morning...
- SIN... That we haven't acknowledged to God...
- SIN... That we haven't confessed...
- SIN... That we haven't repented of...
- SIN... That we haven't placed beneath the blood of Jesus in genuine New Testament baptism,
then we need to feel guilty, because we are. We must allow this guilt to motivate us to deal with our sin in a proper grace response.

But sometimes we feel guilty when we shouldn't. If you have some sin that you have
- Acknowledged... Confessed to God...
- Repented of with a broken contrite heart...
- And have placed that sin under the blood of the cross, then accept God's forgiveness. Do not allow Satan to ruin another moment with uncertainty about your forgiveness. Close that chapter of your life and enjoy God's "Touch Of Grace."

So... The invitation is for us to search our hearts this morning.
- If we feel guilt... Then ask why.
- If there is unresolved sin in our life... Then resolve it.

If that sin has been dealt with properly... Then smile and...
- Enjoy your forgiveness,
- Rejoice in your salvation.

If you need to respond to God's touch of grace... Come, as we stand and sing this invitation song.