Leftovers

One of the most difficult tasks of preaching isn't figuring out what to say…but what not to say.  To ignore this could result in a sermon that is awfully lengthy…and so we don’t (you’re welcome for that).

But, what to do with what’s unsaid?
In the past, the insights would simply be left behind.  But now, with The Corner, our plan is to periodically share them with you.  

Here's a Taste:

Grace vs. Justice
In exploring Christ’s heart in our Gentle and Lowly series, it could be asked: “What about God’s justice?”  Doesn’t an emphasis on the grace of God denigrate God’s holiness?

Well, No!  We tend to place the grace of God against the justice (or wrath) of God and imagine they sit on opposite ends of a spectrum…each anchoring one pole against the other.  Like a cosmic see-saw, one will diminish to the same degree as the other is held up.  

In reality, God’s grace and His justice rise and fall together…at least for us as believers.  The justice of God demands a payment for unrighteousness.  That payment is offered by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.  You can trace this through Romans 1:16-18 and see these merged together in 1 John 1:8-9.  

The logic is sound.  If God’s justice demands payment (and it does).  And God’s payment is made by grace (and it is), then, as our understanding of God’s justice increases…so must our understanding of God's grace.
And a few quotes that didn’t make the cut…
“The more robust one’s understanding of the just wrath of God against all that’s evil, the more robust our understanding of His mercy” ~Dane Ortlund

“When I found God so kind, so good, so overflowing with compassion, I smote upon my breast to think that I could ever have rebelled against One who loved me so, and sought my good.” ~C. H. Spurgeon