StoneBridge Community Church
Senior Pastor Jon Saur
Fulfilled
In Matthew 5:17, Jesus makes clear that he came not to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches his disciples what a "fulfilled" life looks like in practice. In this sermon series, we will be looking at key teachings from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, seeking to understand how Jesus' words apply to our lives today.
Matthew 7:13-14 NRSV
Sermon Outline
I. The Narrow Gate
II. The Wide Gate
III. Cheap Grace
IV. Costly Grace
V. The Narrow Gate Revisited
VI. Life in Jesus
Bonhoeffer on Cheap Grace:
German theologian and pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer described Cheap Grace this way:
"Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate."
Bonhoeffer on Costly Grace
In contrast to Cheap Grace, "Costly Grace," according to Bonhoeffer, is described as:
Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble; it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.
Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: "ye were bought at a price," and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.”
NEXT STEPS
1. Think about people who have really lost something for following Jesus from outside of our own culture and history. (Focus on people outside of the United States.) Make a list of them.
2. Make a list of the character traits they share.
3. How many of these traits remind you of Jesus' words in the Sermon on the Mount?
4. Pray that God would instill those traits in you.
GROWTH GROUP / PERSONAL REFLECTION QUESTIONS
1. When you first heard Jesus describe the "wide gate," what did you think of? How was this idea presented to you?
2. When you first heard Jesus describe the "narrow gate," what did you think of? How was this idea presented to you?
3. How would you explain the difference between cheap grace and costly grace?
4. Has following Jesus "cost" you anything? If so, what?
5. Following Jesus isn't easy will cost us. Why do it?
6. How would you describe life lived with Jesus?
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