RADICAL INCLUSIVENESS

This message of forgiveness - what's it all about and how far does it reach? Can just anyone be saved? What about those groups we mentioned in the sermon "Finding Faith in Troubled Homes" (May 10th)? Are they included too? What is the FAITH that will repair and rebuild fractured homes?

Too many times we have the tendency to classify sins, i.e. the bad ones vs. the good ones. The best I can read, there aren't any good ones! We may give them degrees or rank and order, but we don't make the rules, God does! Too many times, we relish in the list that we exclude ourselves from such as Romans 1 where Paul says:

That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved. Romans 1:26-27 (NLT)

But that passage has been prefaced by verse 18 which says:

But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. Romans 1:18 (NLT)

Then we have to realize that, "All sinful, wicked people" includes:

"Lives... full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy.
Romans 1:29-31 (NLT)

Hopefully we're involved less and less in this list of 'good sins' which at times, point directly to all of our hearts. You see, the Gospel is RADICALLY INCLUSIVE! For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Romans 3:23 (NLT)

Here's the bad news: Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, (here's the Good News) but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. Proverbs 28:13 (ESV)

And...

If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 1 John 1:8-9 (NLT)

Radical? YES! Inclusive? YES! We all have sinned and our best efforts fall short of the perfection we must have in order to receive God's forgiveness. But Jesus Christ radically saves everyone who comes to Him in repentance so that we may find mercy and grace and eternal salvation. What an AWESOME, ALL INCLUSIVE GOD we serve!