Share This Episode
The Urban Alternative Tony Evans, PhD Logo

A Lesson in Grace

The Urban Alternative / Tony Evans, PhD
The Truth Network Radio
January 24, 2025 5:00 am

A Lesson in Grace

The Urban Alternative / Tony Evans, PhD

On-Demand Podcasts NEW!

This broadcaster has 807 podcast archives available on-demand.

Broadcaster's Links

Keep up-to-date with this broadcaster on social media and their website.


January 24, 2025 5:00 am

In this message, Dr. Tony Evans begins an in-depth study of Jesus as portrayed in the Book of John. This revealing exploration of the Savior, the ‘eternal Word,’ highlights the unmatched life He offers—a life beyond anything the world can provide.

COVERED TOPICS / TAGS (Click to Search)
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

When you understand clearly who Jesus is, you won't mind being a witness. Dr. Tony Evans underscores the life-changing impact of knowing the Savior. You don't have to have been to seminary first.

You just have to have encountered it. This is the alternative broadcast featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. Grace is like receiving an unexpected gift when you least deserve it—unearned, unasked for, yet life-changing. Today, Dr. Evans begins an in-depth study of the Gospel of John, where we see the ultimate gift of grace in action as Jesus steps into a broken world to bring light, truth, and redemption.

Let's join him as he gets started. We're going to be studying the fourth gospel, St. John, the distinct gospel, while Matthew, Mark, and Luke focus on discipleship while talking about salvation. John focuses on salvation while including discipleship. He begins by introducing us to Jesus Christ, but he introduces us differently. He introduces us theologically to Jesus Christ, not merely historically. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him, nothing came into being that has come into being.

Now, that's a mouthful. In referring to Jesus Christ, he establishes Jesus's eternality. He was in the beginning with God.

So when time started, Jesus was already there. So in the beginning was the Word, the expression of the Godhead, and the Word was with God. The word—the phrase with God—speaks of divine intimacy. They were operating in intimacy.

They were with each other. They were together, because He's part of the Godhead. That's why in Genesis, God can say, Let us make man, because there's an us here that make up what the Bible calls the Godhead. But here's the zinger, and the Word was God. So Jesus Christ, the Word, the spokesperson of the Trinity, is the Word was God.

Okay? So Jesus Christ is deity. And then He shows His work. All things were made through Him. So God did it via Jesus Christ's spoken Word. In Him was life.

So now creation is animated. It is not mere atoms and energy. creation becomes alive through Christ. And the life was the light of men.

So Jesus Christ brought physical life into existence, and as we'll see throughout the book, spiritual life into existence. And this light, verse 5, is designed to shine in dark places, and the darkness did not comprehend it. And so light is needed, because darkness exists. That's why you need light.

You need light to see things as they really are. Beginning in verse 6, we're introduced to John the Baptist, who was sent from God as a witness or a testimony. He was giving testimony from God about the light. We saw that Jesus is the light. So his job was to declare the light, which is all of our jobs as Christians to declare Jesus Christ, so that all men might bleed through Him.

Please notice all men. God's goal is that all men hear about Jesus. That's why you have missions. That's why you have ministries. That's why you have evangelism, so that there is testimony to Jesus Christ, because Jesus Christ is God's message to the world. So John came in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy that would become one who would bear witness to the light when the light came, which is this permanent light directly from heaven. He was not the light, verse 8.

John was not. But he came to testify concerning the light. There was the true light, which comes into the world, which enlightens every man.

Okay? Verse 9, enlightens every man. Every human being benefits from the birth of Jesus Christ.

Let me say that again. And they benefit in two ways. Every human being benefits from Jesus Christ. First of all, every person benefits from Jesus Christ by physical birth, because remember, he is responsible for all creation. So if he's responsible for all creation, anything that takes place in creation bears the benefit of his activity. So you can't even have a baby without thanking Jesus, because everything that exists, exists through his power.

But there is another benefit that comes spiritually. I'll summarize it when I read Romans 5, 18 with these words. So then, as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted in justification of life to all men. Because of one act of disobedience, Adam's sin in the garden, death came upon all men. Do you know everybody in here is going to die?

That's number one, if Christ doesn't come back first. Everybody is going to die because we are children of Adam, and we bear the repercussions of Adam's sin. But the second half of Romans 5, 18 says, even though through one act of righteousness, there resulted justification of life to all men. So through the act of Adam, all men die. But through the act of Christ, all men live.

Now let me explain that. Because you got all referred to both. You got all referring to dying, and then you got all referring to living. But we know all people aren't saved, so how does all refer to the justification of life?

We are condemned by God's standard for a number of reasons. Original sin, that's why we all die, because that got passed down. Then you have inherited sin. That's what you picked up from your mama and your daddy. That's why you don't have to teach your toddler how to lie. Be selfish. You don't have to teach them.

You have to teach them how to tell the truth and all that, because they inherited that. So you get mad at them, but they got it from you. So that's inherited sin. And then there's personal sin, when you become conscious and you act in your own volition. Let me tell you what the one act of righteousness of Christ did on the cross. The one act of righteousness of Christ on the cross addressed the issue of original sin so that nobody does not go to heaven because of what Adam did. You are now judged because of personal sin.

That's why we call it the age of accountability. When you recognize your own sin, sin volitionally, and reject the truth, when you do it out of your own volition. This is how I explain when I meet a couple that loses an infant, why that infant is in heaven. Nobody goes to heaven apart from Jesus Christ.

See? I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me. But how do I get an infant to heaven who doesn't know about Jesus Christ, couldn't understand it if you told him about Jesus Christ, because they're an infant?

How can I confidently tell them? Because the issue of personal sin is not on the table. The issue of original sin is. That's why that baby can die as a baby, because the issue of original sin is. But Romans 5 18 says original sin, the sin that brought about death by one man, brought life to the same group that died.

And in both cases, he uses the word all. And so I, with confidence, can say to a mother or father who loses an infant that your child is in heaven because the sin issue that brought about their early death has already been addressed through the one act of righteousness. So even that infant goes to heaven because of Jesus Christ. So, there was the true light, verse 10, he was in the world and the world was made through him.

He reinforces the fact of Jesus Christ being the author of creation. And the world did not know him. They did not recognize him. He came to his own, that is Israel, the Jews, his own people. And those who were his own did not receive him. So, as we study the book of John, you're going to see rejection after rejection after rejection in spite of overt proofs that Jesus is who he said he is, but his own would reject him. Of course, leading to the cross did not receive him. The Greek word receive has to do with welcoming him.

You know, like you put a welcome sign out in front of a house, you know, welcoming him in. But as many as received him, to them he gave them the right, that is the legal right, to become children of God. So everyone here who has accepted Jesus Christ has been legally adopted into the family of God, even to those who believe in his name. To believe in Jesus' name means to believe in his person and work. It's not just to believe in the name of the nomenclature Jesus.

It is to believe in who he is. Dr. Evans will explore the unique union of God and man found in Jesus when he returns shortly. First though, I want to let you know that today's message begins Dr. Evans' 14-lesson study of the Gospel of John. In this New Testament book, the divine nature of Jesus is highlighted, revealing him as the Word made flesh and the light of the world. Through this study, you'll gain a deeper understanding of Christ's teachings, miracles, and love for humanity, uncovering timeless truths that will strengthen your faith and provide solid guidance for your life. We'd like to send you the complete series on CD or digital download as our gift when you make a donation to the ministry of the alternative. And as a special bonus, we'll also include a copy of Dr. Evans' encouraging book, Dry Bones Dancing.

It's a study of Ezekiel's vision of brittle bones brought to life by the Spirit's breath. And it'll help you experience the same sort of dramatic transformation in your life or the life of your church. Just visit us today at tonyevans.org or call us at 1-800-800-3222, make your contribution, and let us send you the Gospel of John audio series and Tony's book, Dry Bones Dancing.

I'll have our contact information for you again after part two of today's lesson and this. If you're like most Christians, there are people in your life who know you but may not know Jesus. You really want to do something about that but don't feel equipped to share your faith effectively.

In other words, maybe if you knew more, you could do more. Well, that's where the Tony Evans Training Center comes in. It's an online Bible school with classes that'll take you deep into the most important core concepts of the faith. You can start with our free introductory course on evangelism, then move on to subjects like spiritual warfare, marriage building, maturing in the faith, and many more. The content is challenging but you can move through it at your own pace anytime you're online. There's also lots of custom content from Tony and an online forum where you can get your specific questions answered.

Go to tonyevans.org and follow the link to the Tony Evans Training Center. It's like having a seminary on your smartphone. Now we come to verse 14 where we talk about the incarnation. Incarnation means to be made flesh, and the Word became flesh—that is, entered into humanity.

How did He do it? He did it through the virgin birth. The virgin birth was the mechanism by which God, the second person of the Trinity, became a man—that is, He took on human flesh. So what happened in the incarnation is that the egg of a woman was fertilized by the Holy Spirit. So you had the DNA of God infiltrating the DNA of a person.

Don't misunderstand this. Jesus is not half God and half man. He's all God into all man. He's fully human, so He cried like a baby in the manger. He's fully divine, because He made His mama.

Okay? Fully human, so He has to sleep. You see Him sleeping in the boat. He's fully divine, so He can raise folk from the dead. He's fully human, so He can say, I thirst. He's fully divine, so He can walk on water. So the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us—the Greek word for dwelt means to tabernacle or pitch a tent.

He lived among men as a man. In the Old Testament, Moses gave the law. The law made Israel unique among all the nations of the world. It made Israel unique. No other nation had this kind of prescription for their identity like Israel did, and God communicated that through His prophet Moses. The problem with the law is that it was very limited.

The second problem with the law is that it was temporary. But he says God gave something unique with Jesus Christ, and he says grace and truth. In fact, he says grace on top of grace. So the picture I will give you of grace on top of grace is when you see waves rolling into the seashore, you know, when the surfers are on the waves, and they get on the waves, and then one waves in, and then they wait for the next wave in the way.

It means wave after wave. So whatever grace is, it keeps on coming. It's grace on top of grace. It's wave on top of wave of whatever this thing is called grace, the favor of God, the emerited favor of God.

So this is a big deal. It's so big that in Ephesians, chapter 2, it says all eternity will be filled with the grace of God. So this is not a small word.

It's a pregnant word. This word is full of life and vigor, and that's why it will take eternity to experience it, because there's so much tied to it. So with Jesus Christ comes grace on top of grace on top, wave after wave after wave after wave after wave after wave of this thing called grace, which went beyond the law.

In fact, not only did it go beyond the law, but it rendered the law of Moses unnecessary. Now, it goes back to John's testimony. Statement of John, when the Jews sent the priests and the Levites from Jerusalem wanting to know, who are you?

What do you say about yourself? Because even now, getting these crowds come in here and preach about Jesus, and they want to know, the leaders say, go find out who this guy is. So they send some of their reps to find out who he is, and he says, quoting Isaiah, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness. Verse 23, make straight the way of the Lord, as Isaiah the prophet said. I'm the one saying, get ready, because he's coming. So he's preparing the way for the people to receive him.

Now, this is critical. The whole issue of preparing the way was to offer Israel their King. The whole Old Testament was looking forward to the King coming, the King of the Jews. That's why this whole thing is about Jesus being King of the Jews for the whole world, but situated as King of the Jews.

In fact, all history will go there. That's why Israel is so important, Jerusalem is so important, because he's the King of the Jews, and through that, the King of the world. So they want to know, what's going on here? Because they were looking forward to the coming of Messiah, the coming of their King. He says, I'm getting you ready to receive your King, to make straight. Now, they had been sent from some of the Pharisees, and they asked, verse 21, 25, why then are you baptizing?

Because he was baptizing people as they responded to his message. If you are not the Christ, Elijah, the prophet. Well, John says, I baptize in water, but among you stands one whom you do not know. It is he who comes after me, the thong of his sandals, I'm not worthy to untie. He says, this one who's coming, I can't even untie his shoelace.

I can't even get that low for who I'm talking about. So John was baptizing, preparing. The next day, so this is days happening, he sees Jesus coming to him and says, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

This goes back to the Old Testament system, the Passover, offering the Lamb in order to save the people from Pharaoh coming, but those were all temporary. That was salvation on the layaway plan. In the Old Testament, that's salvation on the layaway plan, because they had to keep doing it and keep doing it and keep doing it. But that was all types getting set up for the permanent one, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who would now address the sin problem for the whole world. 1 John 2 says, he is not only the perpetuation or satisfaction for our sin, but for the sin of the whole world.

So now let me throw you a curve ball. The issue is no longer is sin paid for. The Lamb of God has taken away the sin of the whole world. The issue now is whether the payment is received. It's good news to know I don't have to pay for it. It's already been paid.

I have to accept the payment and the payer of the payment. Verse 35, and the next day, John was standing with two of his disciples, two who had been following him, and he looked at Jesus as he walked and said, behold the Lamb of God. So he tells his two disciples, that's the Son of God. The two disciples heard him speak and they followed Jesus. And Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, what do you seek? They said to him, Rabbi, where are you staying? In other words, we want to come hang out with you.

That's the concept of abiding. And he said to them, come and see, which Jesus always says to anybody who wants to hang out with him. So John is a witness. Andrew finds Jesus. Andrew takes his brother, Peter, to meet Jesus.

Jesus prophesied about Peter. So we got witnessing taking place. When you understand clearly who Jesus is, you won't mind being a witness. And you don't have to have been to seminary first.

You just have to have encountered it. Dr. Tony Evans, reminding us that God's grace is always reaching out, transforming lives, and drawing us closer to Him. And he's back right now to offer this follow-up challenge about encountering Jesus. You're not a Christian because you're religious or because you go to church or even because you believe in God. You're a Christian because you've accepted Jesus Christ as your personal sin-bearer. Being religious, doing good works, that's nice, but it's not sufficient when God demands perfection. 2 Corinthians 5.21 says, He who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. So what God has said is, He placed your sin on the cross, on to Christ, and then judged Christ for your sin. If you will go to Christ, He will take Christ's righteousness, which is perfect, and He will credit it to your account. So you will stand before God as though you've never sinned, not because you're sinless, but because you've got a sinless credit on your account. If you will receive Jesus Christ right now, if you will invite Him into your life, believing that He died for you and rose for you personally, He will credit your account with perfection because He's already credited your sin on the Jesus Christ. So go to Christ right now and get this free gift of salvation that He's offering to all who come to Him for it.

Find out more about what it means to be a real Christian. Visit tonyevans.org and follow the link that says Jesus. You'll get a straightforward explanation from Tony and some free resources to get you started off right. Again, that's tonyevans.org. And while you're there, don't miss your chance to take advantage of the resource package I mentioned earlier. All 14 messages from both volumes of Tony's current sermon series on the Gospel of John, along with his encouraging Dry Bones Dancing book. They're yours with our thanks when you make a donation to help keep this listener-supported program coming your way. Just visit tonyevans.org to make the arrangements, or call our resource center at 1-800-800-3222, where team members are standing by to assist with your request.

That's 1-800-800-3222 or online at tonyevans.org. How often have you followed your GPS directions to a place you've never been? Trusting the root will lead you there. Well, faith is acting on God's guidance. Trusting He sees the destination even when we can't. Well, next time, Dr. Evans explores the transformative power of faith as Jesus calls His first followers. Be sure to join us for A Lesson in Faith.
Whisper: medium.en / 2025-01-23 20:06:07 / 2025-01-23 20:14:44 / 9

Get The Truth Mobile App and Listen to your Favorite Station Anytime