When We Have Hurt Others – Part 2 of 2

Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.

When our bad choices result in harm to others, it may be only later that we realize what we've done. The apostle Paul had persecuted the new church with zeal. Then came his conversion on the Damascus road. How he later came to grips with his actions is our focus on today's broadcast.

Stay with us. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer, God's mercy and grace for Paul is amazing after what he did to the newborn church. You know, Dave, when I think of the conversion of the apostle Paul, I'm reminded of the fact that God is able to save terrorists.

That's what Paul was before he was converted, and God made the best of his life despite his terrible past. Now, I can't help but think that I'm talking to many people, and they say, well, I'm not a terrorist, but all of us have regrets. All of us have made mistakes, and we look at the past and we think of the bad decisions we have made and the detours needed to get back on track. I've written a book entitled Making the Best of a Bad Decision, and today is the last day we are making this resource available to you for a gift of any amount. I wrote this book. It has to do with bad marriage decisions, wisdom when it comes to guidance. Also, the book actually ends by speaking about making good decisions. I think it'll be of tremendous help to you. Here's what you do.

Go to rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. Now, let us be reminded again that God makes the best of bad decisions. Paul also in the process admits who he was, that he was the chief of sinners. So, Paul admits whom he was, but notice how he also now speaks about God's grace. He says, though I, formerly, I was a blasphemer, but I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief.

Now, in order to understand that, you have to go back to the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, there were two kinds of sins. There was the sin that was the sin of the high hand, the person who says I'm shaking my fist in the face of God, the sin of a Nietzsche the sin of a Nietzsche who said even if you prove God's existence, I will then believe him even less.

In other words, goodbye God. There's that kind of a sin and then there's the sin of ignorance where you're genuinely misled and there's a difference. Now, that doesn't get you off the hook. It doesn't mean that it isn't sin.

It's just that it is more understandable. It is a lesser sin, if you want to put it that way. So, Paul says I did it ignorantly in unbelief and I received mercy. He says I receive mercy and mercy means we don't get what we deserve. God says, Saul, you deserve punishment.

You deserve hell. We all do, but God says I'm going to prevent you from getting what you deserve. That's mercy. When we pray for America, we have to pray for mercy. We can't pray for justice but for mercy because if we got what we deserved, we probably wouldn't be around here right now to enjoy what we're doing. So, he says and I received grace. If mercy is not getting what we deserved, grace is getting blessings that we don't deserve.

It is, it is God's bountiful way of blessing us. Now, I want you to look at the text because the Apostle Paul loved a preposition in Greek who pair from which we get hyper. Today, we have active children. All children are active but then you have hyper active children and some of you know what that's all about and even grandparents have to learn what that's all about. Hyper active.

We have sensitive people and then we have people who are hyper sensitive. You know that word hyper. Let's call it super, super. Paul actually on three or four occasions in the New Testament made up a word by putting a prefix before another word and there's no other example in all of Greek literature where that was done because Paul just ran out of a way to say it and so he used the word super here. Let's look at the text and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Jesus.

The word overflow is to super flow. In 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 verse 3, the Apostle Paul speaks of the super increase of your faith. I thank God that you have super faith.

Makes up a new word there too, same idea. And then in Ephesians 1 19 he's praying and he says I want you to know the super abounding power of God. I want you to know not just God's power but his super power. And in Romans chapter 8 verse 37, he says this that we are super conquerors through Jesus Christ because of him who loved us. We're not just conquerors Paul says. I know that we translated it we are more than conquerors that's the way the translation gets a hold of this idea but Paul is saying hey I want you to be a super conqueror. For the Apostle Paul everything that God did was super. And he says I especially like super grace for a super sinner. Super sinners need super grace. I'm getting one amen over here.

I'm getting one taker. Let's put it that way. I love the words of Spurgeon this is what he says. Man piles a mountain of sin but God will match it. And he upheaves a loftier mountain of grace. Man still heaps up a larger hill of sin but the Lord over tops it with 10 times more grace. So the contest continues till at last the mighty God plucks up the mountains by the roots and buries man's sin beneath them as a fly might be buried beneath the Alps. Abundant sin is no barrier to the super abundant grace of God.

Wow. Yeah you can clap for that. I want to clap too because I'm a super sinner with all the other super sinners that I'm preaching to today. You know if the truth were known there's some of you who've done some pretty terrible things and I want to take out a moment here and I want to speak first of all to the people who are listening to this in prison. We know that many people do. Did you know that in prison there's those who huddle around their radios in prison? We know that because we get letters from them and I have a word for the people who are in prison today. But I also have a word for those who are listening who aren't in prison but who should be. I want you to be listening too. And then I have a word for those of us who probably shouldn't be in prison but who are hearts make up for an awful lot of evil.

It's a way of saying I'm speaking to all of us. Your sin is no match for God's super grace. Your sin is no match for God's super grace.

Super grace. Your sin is no match for God's super grace. You say well should we continue in sin that grace may abound?

No, God forbid. Paul says we should never take advantage of grace but no matter where you are no matter what your past is the Apostle Paul is here to tell you that God is a super forgiver for super sinners. Now notice that the Apostle Paul admitted who he was and what he had done. He acknowledged God's grace but he also acknowledged God's plan.

Don't you love it? We're walking through the passage and your Bible is open before you. Notice it says the saying is trustworthy and deserves a full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason that in me as the foremost Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. Notice it says in verse 12 I thank him who has given me strength Christ Jesus our Lord because he judged me faithful appointing me to his service. Here he takes a blasphemer, he takes a murderer, he takes somebody who enjoyed violence with sadistic delight and he so transforms him he says I've appointed you as a minister and what I'm going to do is to use you as an example as a super sinner the chief of sinners because I want people to understand I want them to be able to understand that I can take a murderer and make him into a minister and a persecutor can become a preacher God says.

So I'm going to choose the most unlikely candidate the Apostle Paul and I'm going to show my mercy to him and I'm going to consider him to be the chief of sinners and God did this because he knew that in the third millennium there would be some women some young mothers who've had abortions who wonder whether or not God can forgive them and there are some men who've lived immorally and they've ruined lives and they brought children into this world that they are not caring for and and they've messed up other people's lives and they're going to wonder is there hope for me and God says if you're looking for the who is the super sinner sorry I've already given that award to somebody that I chose to save and to show my grace to the Apostle Paul. Why do you think Jesus appeared to Paul like this to Saul on the way? I mean this was an unusual thing it wasn't you know hey somebody snuggling up to him and saying have you heard of the four spiritual laws this was really quite different he's riding along he wants to kill Christians he wants to take them bound to Jerusalem and suddenly a light comes Jesus appears to him and he says who are you and he says I'm Jesus you're the one you're persecuting me because when you hurt my body you're hurting me and so I'm the one that you have to deal with and he begins to recognize this is the Lord.

Why did God do it that way? Probably because there was nobody around who would have had the nerve to witness to this guy. I mean who in the world would want to go to the Apostle Paul and give him a witness who would want to go to use the analogy to Osama bin Laden and say would you love to believe on Jesus? Nobody nobody hey this guy's beyond hope he's set in his mind he's a violent man you let him be and Jesus says well I want to choose somebody who's really rotten I want to choose somebody who's deep in the pit and I want to exalt him to prove to people that I can what I can do with a chief of sinners and so I'm going to have to do this one myself.

And so Jesus comes down from heaven and speaks to the Apostle Paul and he's radically converted. You say well Pastor Lutzer what did Paul do in relationship to his past and relationship to others? Did he ask forgiveness for what he had done to those whose lives he ruined?

There were some whom were killed he couldn't do anything about that. The Bible doesn't tell us probably because of problems with geography and terms of length of time and the whole bit but I have no doubt that if he had the opportunity he would have because remember this is the same Apostle Paul who wrote in the book of Ephesians he says lay aside all bitterness and all wrath and all clamor and all evil speaking and be kind to one to another ten to the other. And be kind to one to another tender hearted forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you. That's Paul tender hearted so tender that if a leaf should fall on his heart it would leave an imprint. He says be tender hearted and he's the same Apostle Paul who wrote in the book of Galatians he says when a brother is overtaken with a fall to over restore him he says with a spirit of meekness knowing that you could be in the same predicament and the word restore the Greek word restore was often used for the setting of a bone. I've never had a bone set but I suppose that if you break your bone you don't want somebody in there with a crowbar trying to get this thing to set you want tenderness. Some of you who are listening to this message today you have broken bones and others have broken bones because others have broken your bones but you've also broken other people's bones and the Apostle Paul would say make sure to set this very very carefully. If you've wronged someone admit it not just superficially well you know I might have done something wrong what do you mean you might have just say I did it and and feel the other person's pain I think of a man who's in his 80s a father who who really abused his children and he's dying now as a believer and he's kind of said he's sorry but think of how different it would be if he'd get down on his knees and say kids please forgive me I wronged you terribly and whenever necessary what we need to do is to make sure that we even make restitution to set those bones if you've stolen something think of ways in which you may be able to give it back if you've been able to hurt someone do what you can do what you can to make it right there's some situations that you can't you can't straighten out I realize that the people may have died the circumstances may be such that there's nothing that you can do but we all need to be sure that we've done whatever possible to be restored to our sin and our part in hurting others and we ask forgiveness that we might be forgiven as God has forgiven us well it's a marvelous story of grace isn't it I end today with the story of a man who wrote to me from prison perhaps you've heard me mention it before and he wrote to me some time ago and said pastor Lutzer I was listening to you on the radio and I have raped four women that's why I'm in jail can I too be forgiven good question good question something within us wants to say I hope not because you deserve hell and he does and so do we I wrote back and I said I want you to visualize two trails one trail is a very messy trail deep ruts that go down it's just an ugly trail mud ruts the other trail is very very well traveled now I want you to visualize that 18 inches of snow come cover both trails can you tell the difference between this trail and that trail after the snow arrives no they're all the same come now let us reason together says the Lord though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow though they be red like crimson they shall be as wool God can forgive you and cover your sin through Jesus Christ the chief of sinners was converted and God can convert you too and forgive you so that you can solicit the forgiveness and the grace of others super abounding grace for super sinners let's pray father we now ask in the name of Jesus that you might work in all hearts who've listened and before I close this prayer what is it that you need to say to God today you may be here and you're not converted at all there was never a time when you believed in Jesus why don't you do that right where you are say Jesus I'm a sinner save me I acknowledge you as Lord as my savior right now for those of us who know him for those of us who know him may we do all that we can to forgive as we've been forgiven father we are a needy people we believe lies that we tell ourselves we need a revelation of Jesus we need a revelation of truth would you do that we pray in Jesus name amen amen well my friend this is pastor luther did you know that all of us are super sinners in need of super grace look back on your own life and I'm sure that you will admit even as I have to admit that I've made decisions that I have regretted how does God help us when we get off track I've written a book entitled making the best of a bad decision and today is the last opportunity you have to receive this resource perhaps it's a resource that you desperately need and if not you certainly know others who also may benefit from it for a gift of any amount it can be yours and let me thank you in advance for helping us we want to help you make it all the way to the finish line as you frequently have heard me say I hope that you have a pen or pencil with you go to rtwoffer.com that's rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 every one of us has made bad decisions how does God take those decisions and turn them into something good ask for the book making the best of a bad decision today the last day we're making this offer go to rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 and thanks in advance for helping us because we delight in sharing God's grace it's time once again for you to ask pastor lutzer a question about the bible or the christian life pastor lutzer today's question is heartbreaking i hope you can give some hope to a man who has very little right now here is michael's story my wife and i have gone through a lot of trauma in the past number of years we lost a son our youngest daughter is pregnant we had to close our business and now my wife has filed for separation i admit that i've been a workaholic that i've been gone from home for long periods and now for the past few years i've been out of work my unemployment doesn't even pay for the mortgage my wife has asked me what it would take for us to get a divorce i said i would have to hear from dr lutzer that it's okay for us to divorce so pastor lutzer what is your advice well michael well michael the answer is no it is not okay for you to divorce as i read your question i can't help but think that there is hope for your marriage the fact is that the two of you are together you've gone through an awful lot of trauma together you've lost a son your youngest daughter is pregnant the two of you need each other you need each other to honor the lord and to hang in together but you also need each other because how else are you going to face all of the turmoil that's taking place in your marriage and among your children god wants the two of you to stay together get some good counseling i'm sure that you've asked your wife's forgiveness for your workaholism and now for not having a job which can be just as traumatic for a wife but there is hope but your most important responsibility is for your marriage get that together trust god to give you work so that you are able to provide for your family hang in endurance is highly honored by god the both of you need it and by god's grace you can do it thank you michael and thank you dr lutzer if you'd like to hear your question answered go to our website at rtwoffer.com and click on ask pastor lutzer or call us at 1-888-218-9337 that's 1-888-218-9337 you can write to us at running to win 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard Chicago Illinois 60614 the winning athlete understands discipline taking the right steps to ensure victory and you can be sure it also takes discipline to win in the race of life next time pastor lutzer begins a series on crowning christ lord this is dave mccallister running to win is sponsored by the moody church