 There is an ongoing battle
against a Biblical Perspective
on Grace
 The war against God’s
Grace has been waged for
millennium
 This war is the result of two
irreconcilable ideologies
Attempting to Discredit
Jesus
 Accusing Him of blasphemy
(Mk 2:7)
 Calling him the friend of
sinners (Mk 2:16)
 Accusing Him of being
empowered by Satan
(Mk 3:22)
1
He entered again into a
synagogue; and a man
was there whose hand
was withered. 2 They
were watching Him to
see if He would heal him
on the Sabbath, so that
they might accuse Him. 3
He said to the man with
the withered hand, “Get
up and come forward!
Mark 3:1–3 (NASB95)
 Jesus refused to
conform to their mold
for the Messiah
 “watching” – “as one
who dogs another’s
steps” (Vincent)
 Jesus refused to be
swayed by their hardheartedness
5
After looking around at
them with anger, grieved at
their hardness of heart, He
said to the man, “Stretch
out your hand.” And he
stretched it out, and his
hand was restored. 6 The
Pharisees went out and
immediately began
conspiring with the
Herodians against Him, as
to how they might destroy
Him.
Mark 3:5–6 (NASB95)
 The modern day
conspiracy against
grace is characterized
by the same attitudes
 Narrow-mindedness
 An unbalanced view of
Grace
 Hatred of God’s true
Law
As He passed by, He
saw Levi the son of
Alphaeus sitting in the
tax booth, and He said
to him, “Follow Me!”
And he got up and
followed Him.
Mark 2:14 (NASB95)
14
An Unbalanced View of
Righteousness
 Jesus demonstrated a
compassionate righteousness
 Casting out demons
(Mk 1:23-28;32;39)
 Healing the sick
(Mk 1:29-34; 40-45)
 Forgiving the sins of the
paralytic (Mk 2:5-12)
…“Why is He
eating and
drinking with tax
collectors and
sinners?”
16
Mark 2:16
(NASB95)
An Unbalanced View of
Righteousness
 The Pharisee saw these
people as stained beyond
cleansing
 Jesus called them to follow
Him
 The Pharisee saw this as
fellowship with sin
 Jesus was saving sinners!
And hearing this,
Jesus said to them, “It is
not those who are
healthy who need a
physician, but those
who are sick; I did not
come to call the
righteous, but sinners.”
Mark 2:17 (NASB95)
17
Accepting the Penitent
and Rejecting the SelfRighteous
 Jesus was preaching a
simple message –
“Repent and Believe the
Gospel”
 Repentance requires an
initial realization
followed by a determined
action
And hearing this,
Jesus said to them, “It is
not those who are
healthy who need a
physician, but those
who are sick; I did not
come to call the
righteous, but sinners.”
Mark 2:17 (NASB95)
17
Accepting the Penitent
and Rejecting the SelfRighteous
 Jesus was preaching a
simple message –
“Repent and Believe the
Gospel”
 Belief also requires an
initial realization
followed by determined
action!
And hearing this,
Jesus said to them, “It is
not those who are
healthy who need a
physician, but those
who are sick; I did not
come to call the
righteous, but sinners.”
Mark 2:17 (NASB95)
17
The Pharisee
“Your sins are
more sinful
because my
righteousness is
more righteous”
And hearing this,
Jesus said to them, “It is
not those who are
healthy who need a
physician, but those
who are sick; I did not
come to call the
righteous, but sinners.”
Mark 2:17 (NASB95)
17
Grace Only
“Your
obedience is
more wicked
than My sin”
John’s disciples and
the Pharisees were
fasting; and they came
and said to Him, “Why
do John’s disciples and
the disciples of the
Pharisees fast, but Your
disciples do not fast?”
Mark 2:18 (NASB95)
18
Tradition and Human
Reasoning
 The fasting here refers to
the Pharisees tradition of
fasting 3 days a week
 The disciples were being
condemned based on
tradition not law
And it happened that
He was passing through
the grainfields on the
Sabbath, and His
disciples began to make
their way along while
picking the heads of
grain.
Mark 2:23 (NASB95)
23
Tradition and Human
Reasoning
 The Law forbade
harvesting on the
Sabbath
 The Disciples were eating
lunch
 They were only guilty of
violating tradition
And He said to them, “Have
you never read what David did
when he was in need and he and
his companions became hungry;
26 how he entered the house of
God in the time of Abiathar the
high priest, and ate the
consecrated bread, which is not
lawful for anyone to eat except the
priests, and he also gave it to
those who were with him?”
Mark 2:25–26 (NASB95)
25
Tradition and Human
Reasoning
 They excused David based
on circumstance
 They condemned the
Disciples based on
tradition
 They refused pardon to the
tax collector based on
hatred
Arbitrary Prejudicial
Reasoning
Jesus said to them,
“The Sabbath was made  Holding the writings of men
on par with Scripture deny
for man, and not man
the authority behind grace
for the Sabbath. 28 “So
the Son of Man is Lord  Demanding our own terms
even of the Sabbath.”
for grace demeans the true
Mark 2:27–28
power of grace
(NASB95)
(Jn 14:15; Lk 1:28;
1Jn 2:4-5, 5:2)
27
 The doctrines of men have always
been at war with Grace
 Labeling obedience as anti-grace
destroys the divine notion of grace
 Fortunately, the offer of grace
cannot be dictated by the desires
of men’s hearts not the narrowness
of their minds