Authentic and Restorative

Welcome to the Movement

Welcome to the Well Community Church. I’m so glad you’re here today. If you’re having a hard time finding a seat in the auditorium, just a reminder that we have our theater space and our student center, which we use as a family venue. It’s not exclusive to families, but it’s a great spot if your kids are being a little loud and you’re not sure what to do. As we head into the fall, we’re going to need to make some room, so please keep those options in mind.

My name is Brad, and for the next couple of weeks, we are in a series called “All Hands.” We are doing two things with this series. First, we’re inviting those who have been around for a while back into the core of who we are. These are “DNA messages”—reminders of the things you’ve heard before, but things we need to be stirred up by. Second, we’re inviting those of you who are new to be a part of the “madness” that is The Well. We are a little unique as a church, and we want you to know our values so you can join this movement with us.

Last week, we talked about what it means to be biblical. This week, we’re going to talk about being authentic and being restorative. But before we get into those values, we need to understand the work of the gospel, because that is the only context in which authenticity and restoration make sense.

The Story of the Gospel

If you’re new to the Bible and you asked for the “ChatGPT for a five-year-old” version of what the Bible is about, it would be this: Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Consummation. The Bible begins with God speaking the world into existence and creating mankind in His image. At the end of creation, everything was not just good; it was very good.

Genesis 1:31 (NASB)

God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Then comes Chapter 3. This chapter introduces the adversary, Satan. He does three things that are still happening today. First, he challenges God’s Word: “Did God really say?” Second, he challenges God’s justice: “You surely will not die.” Third, he challenges God’s love, suggesting that God is holding out on us and that true joy is found in doing whatever we please. Adam and Eve ate the fruit, and sin entered the world.

This matters to you and me because we are all sinners. We aren’t just sinners because we do bad things; we are sinners by nature. We are brought forth in sin. There are no “good people” compared to a holy God.

Romans 5:12 (NASB)

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned–

At the core of our life is our will, and the engine room driving that will is what the Bible calls “the flesh.” The problem with the flesh is that it cannot please God. We cannot save ourselves. That is why the gospel is such good news. It’s not about us trying out for salvation or hoping we’re good enough. He saves us.

Titus 3:3-5 (NASB)

For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and [His] love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,

We were dead in our trespasses, living according to the lusts of our flesh. We were, by nature, children of wrath. But God, being rich in mercy, made us alive together with Christ.

Ephesians 2:4-5 (NASB)

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

The Tension of the Christian Life

Here at The Well, we talk about embracing the gospel at a point in time. You don’t “grow up” into being a Christian just because you’re in a Christian home. You become a follower of Jesus by acknowledging your sin and inviting Him into your life. His righteousness becomes yours, and your sin becomes His.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (NASB)

He made Him who knew no sin [to be] sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

If you are in Christ, you are a new creature. But then you start living the Christian life, and you realize there is a tension. Even though you are a new creature, the flesh is still there.

Galatians 5:17 (NASB)

For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.

There is a battle being fought that will last until the day we die or Christ returns. We embrace the gospel at a point in time for salvation, but we also embrace the gospel over time for transformation. What has died in us is our obligation to sin and the mastery of sin, but not the influence or presence of sin.

If you find yourself going one step forward and two steps back, welcome to the Christian life. If you’re frustrated that your fleshly tendencies didn’t disappear the moment you were saved, welcome to the Christian life. Your position in Christ—fully forgiven and loved—should give you the courage to come out of hiding and be honest about the struggle.

Value One: We are Authentic

Because of the gospel, we have a value here: We are authentic. This means we live open and honest about our struggles. We aren’t interested in pleasantries or “halfway” saying it. Have you ever met someone who talks just enough about what’s on top of the table so that nobody asks about what’s underneath? We want to put words to the struggle.

1 John 1:5-7 (NASB)

This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and [yet] walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

John says that if we walk in the light, we have fellowship with one another. We often live under the false assumption that if I’m honest about my sin, it will repel you. But the opposite is true. When we put out the “Instagram version” of ourselves—the performative self that never struggles—that is what is actually repelling. No one believes it. When you aren’t honest, I won’t be honest. But when we walk in the light, we find authentic connection.

1 John 1:9 (NASB)

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

There is no perfect Christian this side of glory. If you claim you have no sin, you don’t understand the gospel. However, walking in the light isn’t a license to sin. John writes so that we may not sin, but if we do, we have an advocate.

1 John 2:1-2 (NASB)

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for [those of] the whole world.

Three Means of Grace

How do we walk authentically? We use three “means of grace”—ways we open ourselves to the work of God.

First is God’s Word. The Bible is a spotlight for the soul. Sometimes it’s encouraging, and sometimes it feels like an assault because it’s in your face. We don’t just read the Bible for knowledge; we let the Bible read us. If my life isn’t in alignment with the Word, I adjust my life. You need the Word like you need food. You can go a day without it, but eventually, your spiritual life will atrophy.

Second is God’s Spirit. When we embrace the gospel, we are sealed with the Spirit. When we sit in silence, the Spirit begins to “clean house.”

Romans 8:26-27 (NASB)

In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for [us] with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to [the will of] God.

I’ll give you an example. I’ve realized there are three types of men when it comes to the “temperature” of a room. There are thermometers (they tell you the temperature), thermostats (they can change it slightly), and then there are guys who “bring the weather.” I’m a weather-maker. I speak the language of intensity, which my wife and daughters don’t speak at all.

Last week, I was sitting quietly with the Lord, asking Him to search my heart. I realized that the night before, I had come home in a bad mood and I brought the weather. Everyone felt it. I wasn’t loving my wife the way Christ loves the church. Because I know I’m in Christ and there is no shame, I didn’t hide. I went to my wife and said, “Babe, I’m convicted. I brought the weather last night and I treated you poorly. Will you forgive me?” That’s the Spirit at work.

Third is God’s People. Jesus asked why we look at the speck in our brother’s eye while ignoring the log in our own.

Matthew 7:3-5 (NASB)

’Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ’Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? ’You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

Most people use this as an excuse to never say anything. “I won’t talk about your stuff if you don’t talk about mine.” That’s not love. Love is taking the log out so you can help your brother with the speck. If you saw a friend with a giant piece of lettuce in their teeth, would you tell them? A good friend says, “Hey, you’ve got something in your teeth.” We need people who love us enough to enter in.

Value Two: We are Restorative

Our second value today is that we are restorative. We long to see people reconciled to God and one another. Sin divides, but it doesn’t end our relationship with God. If my daughters sin against me, they don’t stop being my daughters, but the relationship is strained. Restoration brings us back into right fellowship.

Galatians 6:1 (NASB)

Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; [each one] looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.

This doesn’t mean we are the “sin police.” We aren’t stalking people or peeking through the bushes. It means we love people enough to admonish them when they drift. If a marriage is struggling and someone is drifting from their spouse, the loving thing is to say, “I love you, but you’re drifting, and there are no biblical grounds for this. I want to invite you back.”

If they repent, you’ve won your brother. If they don’t, you follow the process in Matthew 18—not to ambush them, but to show them that the Word of God is clear. The goal is always restoration. And when someone asks for forgiveness, we are called to be tender-hearted.

Ephesians 4:32 (NASB)

Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

Forgiveness is a decision to obey God and trust Him with the debt. It isn’t necessarily the re-establishment of trust or a promise that things will be exactly as they were, but it is putting your sword down.

A Challenge to the Heart

As we close, I want to ask you: Is there anything in your life you need to confess? Is there anything you’re hiding or embarrassed about? You can come out of hiding. God is waiting with love.

Is there anyone you have wronged? Is there a relationship that is strained? Jesus said that if you are offering a gift at the altar and remember your brother has something against you, leave your gift and go be reconciled. Maybe you need to go clean something up today.

Finally, is there anyone you need to restore? Someone who is drifting into sin that will lead to death? Sin grows in the dark and in isolation. It’s not meant to be managed; it’s meant to be confessed. It’s much easier to help someone when their struggle is a “two” than when it’s a “ten.”

We are a church that holds the tension of being authentic with the struggle while seeking to walk intimately with Jesus. It’s hard to do, but it’s worth it.

Proverbs 28:13 (NASB)

He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, But he who confesses and forsakes [them] will find compassion.

Let’s pray.

Father, thank You for the invitation to be part of Your restoration journey. Help us to model this in ourselves by quickly confessing and repenting. May we be a people who are honest about our journey and who invite others into reconciliation. We are grateful for the work of the gospel. In Jesus’ name, amen.