Grace… Merciful Grace… God’s Grace to Us in Christ!
(May 7th, 2008)
Why Grace? Why am I always writing about God’s merciful grace to us in Christ? (And so much less about ‘works’)… and a ‘simplified definition’ of God’s grace is ‘unmerited favor’…
***Note: I AM NOT ‘discounting’ works… or ‘good deeds’…
I AM NOT making them ‘unimportant’… rather, to me they are ‘the results of’… our receiving God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ… works are outward manifestations of our faith in Him…stimulated from within by His love of us… expressed outwards…
But it is ‘by Grace’ that we are saved… NOT BY WORKS… so God’s grace to us in Christ is ‘our salvation’…
Also… keep in mind… I cannot ‘reduce God to the box of my finite understanding’… no matter how hard I try…
Isa 55:8-9 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," declares the LORD. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.”
However…I feel the Lord speaks to me through my life… and shows me by His Holy Spirit and through His Word… (illuminates for me my path…frontward and backwards – certainly He has shown me ‘what has passed by me’… and His Spirit and His Word show me what awaits me in Heaven in Christ)…
So… let me digress for a moment… and ‘challenge your mind’… by making such example:
I am a miserable sinner! I am totally unworthy of God’s love… in fact… the ONLY thing I have ever ‘earned in relation to God’s righteousness and holiness’ is to be condemned to Hell… and eternally separated from Him – and He is righteous when He judges.
Now… in our ‘culture’… we see ‘coaches hired in pro sports
due to their own experiences from being a competitor or player in that sport… thus… what they would ‘say to their team’ would carry a certain validation and credibility… because
THEY HAVE BEEN THERE AND DONE THAT!
In war time… the Army brings back ‘veterans’ who have ‘been in combat’… to ‘train the new recruits’… because they can speak of ‘what they will experience’ in war… from ‘first hand experience’… thus with more credibility than someone who has NOT experienced combat…
An alcoholic can tell you more about the ‘self-destruction’ of alcoholism from a personal perspective…
A drug addict can show you first-hand the destruction of drugs…
so… those who have been there and done that… have great value… if we are but willing to listen…
Now… lets add this…lets speak of ‘dependency’…
A blind man must depend upon something ‘other than his own sight’ to guide him… thus… guide dogs… a friend… a stick… plus the resulting ‘increased sensitivity’ of his other senses…
A child must depend upon their parents to feed and provide clothes for them… thus they are dependent upon others…
A sick person depends upon ‘their doctor’ to diagnose them and prescribe treatment for them…
Also… someone who is physically strong… generally takes that for granted to some extent… and relies upon that strength when needed… sometimes maybe even to the ‘neglect’ of other important attributes…
whereas someone who is ‘weak or weaker’… learns to rely upon something other than physical strength…we depend to ‘depend upon our strengths’… and to not trust our weaknesses… or ‘to compensate for them…
A great speaker relies upon their ability to speak…someone who is not a great speaker… or who is uncomfortable in speaking in public… they may learn to write powerfully… or to express themselves in another way…
Here is where I am going… In my own life:
1. I was better at playing football than most (not the best but better than most)
2. I was better at wrestling than most (not the best but better than most)
3. I was stronger than most… not the strongest… but certainly way stronger than most…
4. I was better at fighting than most (not the best but better than most)
5. I was… and may still be… better at bragging than most… having more ‘false pride than most’.
6. I was better at drinking than most (not the best but better than most)
7. I was better at cheating than most (not the best but better than most)
8. I was better at fornication and adultery than most (not the best but better than most)
But… most of all… I felt like I was ‘better’ – which in this would be ‘worse as a person’… in ‘sinning more against God than most’… maybe NOT the worst… but certainly ‘one of the worst’…so… in sin… I’ve been there and done that… to such an extent… that I know ‘my own conduct’ and ‘performance’…do NOT earn me any merit or worthiness… and in fact would earn me demerits and God’s wrath…
Conversely… I have met those who are:
1. More faithful in attending church every week
2. More faithful in praying every day… often multiple times per day
3. More worshipful
4. More giving… never failing to tithe
5. More disciplined in actions… never cursing… never cheating… never fornicating… never committing adultery… never stealing…never getting drunk… never fighting…never divorcing…
Certainly… ‘to me’… these people are ‘less of a sinner against God’… than me… so… in my eyes… if I DO NOT READ GOD’S WORD… they are so much more ‘worthy than me’ of God’s favor
I would then… ‘feel’ they are more worthy… and God is ‘more justified’ to find ‘more favor with them’…thus… HAVE THEY THEN EARNED GOD’S LOVE, MERCY, AND GRACE… MUCH MORE THAN ME?????????
In Horse Shoes ‘being closer’ can gain you points… but NOT WITH GOD… in relation to righteousness… ‘close does NOT count’ for righteousness and holiness…
But it is about God’s view
prior to us receiving His salvation. It doesn’t matter what “we think of ourselves,” or “of someone else.” It doesn’t matter what the “world view” of a person’s life is-----that the world judges them “good” or even “righteous.”
It is God’s view that is eternal, and by which we are judged!
But then… when I read the word… I see that the Bible states this -- God’s view prior to us receiving His salvation:
They too have sinned against God: Rom 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, …
Rom 3:10-12 as it is written, "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE."
From what I read… sin is sin… and all sin carries the same weight and penalty…The Penalty for Sin – even “ONE SIN” is: Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, …
And… if you ‘read the Ten Commandments’ (Ex. 20:1-17)… and some would compare their own lives to such… and possibly ‘feel that for a time’… they ‘have NOT violated one of these Laws’… for a ‘very short time’… maybe…because we ‘know’ our pride can delude us… and Satan can delude us…
But then… read Jesus Christ’s Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:1 to 7:28)… and see how ‘He expands our understanding of sin’… to where NO ONE CAN CALL THEMSELVES RIGHTEOUS OF THEIR OWN CONDUCT AND PERFORMANCE… NO ONE!
And I have spoken about this to men … older men… many who are stalwarts in their faith… and consistent in their walk… and thus… their ‘testimony’… is such a strong statement to me…
but each of the ones I have spoken with about this… have told me… they too sin… DAILY…
and that they too have ‘thoughts’ that are sinful (as Christ spoke in His sermon on the mount)…
and that they too fight their pride…
and yes… even their lust (though they discipline themselves so much better than me)… or theirs may be a different type of lust than mine…
and they fully admit… that their salvation is by grace… and not by merit… not by ‘their own conduct’…
So… in Horse Shoes ‘being closer’ can gain you points… but NOT WITH GOD… in relation to righteousness…
Thus… WE ALL NEED A SAVIOR… a Mediator…else we will be standing before Him in judgment pleading our own case… based upon our own performance and conduct… and that will condemn us…
God DOES NOT CONDEMN US… we do…
But ‘in Christ’… Jesus becomes our mediator… our High Priest… and He has paid the eternal penalty for our sins… and in Him we are ‘declared righteous before God’…
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
1 Tim 2:5-6 For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.
It is about Christ’s conduct and performance… NOT MINE…
But as a blind man I must depend more on Jesus…
As a cripple… I must depend more on my crutch… Jesus Christ…
As a ‘condemned man’… I must depend totally on ‘my substitute’ who ‘took my place’ in payment of my sin debt to God… and that man is Jesus Christ…
And as ‘such a sinner’… my ‘sense of God’s grace’ has possibly been ‘more developed’… because certainly ‘my unworthiness’ has become crystal clear…
And…I would ask… if it is ‘by works’… ‘how many’… how much is enough… which ones count the most…
And if we then ‘gain God’s salvation for us’… but at that moment it also becomes ‘our duty and responsibility to maintain it’… I would ask… “How much is enough”… and “what sin then causes us to lose it”… or ‘can I do extra’ for ‘extra credit’… in case I need it…
And NO ONE has the answer to those questions… because ‘that is NOT the answer’ to our relationship with God in Christ…
And let me also say this… I have NEVER met any person… NOT EVEN ONE… who has lived a sinless life… or even lived a sinless life AFTER receiving Jesus Christ! NOT ONE!
So… I have NEVER met anyone who could claim God’s righteousness of their own performance or by their own conduct!
And if there is ‘any other way to God’ except through Christ… then… why would God have sent His Only Son to go through being crucified and taking ‘upon Himself’ all the sins of the world… past, present, and future… I mean… what father would do this to his own son…if there was another way?!
Eph 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Jesus Christ performed the work for our salvation. His death, His suffering, His blood earned the Grace (check) for us. No matter if you believe that you must live like the Amish with the absence of virtually all-modern luxuries. Or live in as a monk, priest, or nun.
No effort you put forth will increase the value of the check.
Meaning of Grace in regards to God’s salvation of us in Christ:
- God's free gift to us
- graciousness
- According to the much quoted Aristotle (the Rhetoric ii.7) "helpfulness towards someone in need, not in return for anything…"
We acknowledge fully that God's grace is a "gift" (Eph 2:8), and that it cannot be earned. But we also note that there is one proviso/condition: the gift of God is "through faith", so you have to give something in return: you have to give your faith.
Picture of Grace in the Pre-Solomonic Times
We read in Genesis 6:8 –
But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
This is the first time in the Septuagint Greek translation of the Old testament that we see the Greek word for grace (which is "charis"). This figure of speech (grace in the eyes of ) is peculiarly Jewish, and will yield a huge leap in our understanding of the meaning of grace. In the pre-Solomonic bible (Genesis to Samuel), this phraseology (grace in the eyes of, or in the sight of) occurs 41 times.
The Hebrew is "Chen", (chet, nun) and incorporates the idea of stooping in kindness to an inferior. That is grace! Grace is a statement about relationship. Picture if you can a parent looking down on a child and smiling! That is the grace relationship! Two more examples of Grace in the Old Testament :-
Genesis 33:-
10: No, please! Said Jacob, "If I have found favor (grace) in your eyes, accept this gift from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me favorably.
(Genesis 34:11) Then Shechem said to Dinah's father and brothers, "Let me find favor (grace) in your eyes, and I will give you whatever you ask…."
Summary of the lesson so far -- Grace can be defined as "a favorable attitude" shown by a superior to an inferior. This is the primary meaning of grace in the bible, both in the old and the new testaments. (God being Superior – thus in this comparison ‘we’ are ‘inferior’)
(from The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1962 by Moody Press)
For by grace are ye saved. That is, you have been saved. God's grace is the source of our salvation. Through faith. Paul never says on account of faith, for faith is not the cause, only the channel through which our salvation comes. And that not of yourselves. The word that refers not to grace or to faith, but to the whole act of salvation - "That salvation not of yourselves." The gift of God. Cf. Rom 6:23. 9. Not of works. This is the negative complement of the preceding statement. The Holy Spirit has been very careful to guard this precious doctrine of salvation by grace against all forms of heresy. Works in the Scripture are the product or fruit of salvation, not the cause of it. Lest any man should boast. There will be no boasting in heaven because there will be no one there who has anything to boast about (1 Cor 4:7).
1 Cor 4:7 For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?
Summary of Lesson:-
- Grace is a "Favourable Attitude" bestowed by the greater (God) upon the lesser (ourselves).
- This favourable attitude is a gift and cannot be earned by anything we do, except for one thing...
- We do have to have faith!
Our ‘condition’ prior to our accepting Christ as our Savior -- Made Alive in Christ: Eph 2:1-7 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. 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), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
God's grace addresses itself not merely to the absence of merit but to the presence of demerit. To understand divine grace, we must see it as more than unmerited favor. The idea of demerit is an essential element in the biblical meaning of grace. In our relationship with God, there is either merit for obedience or demerit for disobedience, but there is no such thing as "unmerit." There is either merit or demerit but no unmerit.
In our case, of course, there is no merit. Even our best deeds are stained with sin, and in a strict view of justice, we deserve to be punished rather than rewarded. That is why the Apostle Paul wrote of us that in our condition before salvation, "We were by nature objects of wrath" (Ephesians 2:3).
Since the concept of demerit is essential to an understanding of grace, lets use the following definition: Grace is God's favor through Christ to people who deserve His wrath. In this definition, the deserving of wrath picks up the idea of demerit, while the concept of God's favor is still retained.
Works are as a Result of our ‘receiving God’s salvation in Christ’…
Works are ‘about rewards in Heaven’… but NOT about salvation… nor can ‘works or good deeds earn you salvation’… nor are they integral to maintaining your salvation in Christ… in fact… until you have ‘received Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord’… your ‘works or good deeds’ do not even have any eternal value…thus…Biblical works are the ‘outward results of your being saved’… ‘the outward evidence of’… that is demonstrated… and also given ‘eternal value’ by God…
Jesus said: Matt 6:19-21 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
1 Cor 3:11-15 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
Rev 22:12-13 "Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."
Grace is ‘always’ tied to ‘belief’… to ‘faith in God’… just as here with Abraham (Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.) -- Abram Promised a Son: Gen 15:1-6 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great." Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" And Abram said, "Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir." Then behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir." And He took him outside and said, "Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be." Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.
God’s grace towards us is by and through His Son -- The Word Made Flesh John 1:12-17 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testified about Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, "He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.'" For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.
Acts 20:24 "But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.”
Justification by Faith: Rom 3:19-28 Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.
Rom 5:19-21 For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Rom 11:6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.
2 Cor 12:7-9 Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me -- to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
Gal 2:20-21 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. "I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly."
Eph 1:5-9 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him
Eph 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Thus to answer the question I began this with… I trust in ‘the power and strength’ of God’s merciful grace towards me in Christ… as my only strength – His gift to me… and the ‘bond of salvation’… eternal reconciliation… eternal restoration from my sins… leading to eternal glorification in Heaven…
And I DO NOT TRUST IN MY WEAKNESS… which has been and is… my own performance… my own lack of self-discipline… my own inconsistency… my continued to sin against God… even when I do NOT want to… even when I know it is sin…
As that first song we learned as children in church: Jesus loves me this I know… because the Bible tells me so…I believe this because God has declared it in His Word…
John 3:14-18 "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
The question is… what do you depend upon… your own strength… your own performance… your own conduct… or on Christ’s…what do you believe?
I’ll again share with you my favorite poem…
I AM A CHRISTIAN
by Maya Angelou
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin."
I'm whispering "I was lost,"
Now I'm found and forgiven.
When I say..."I am a Christian"
I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble
and need CHRIST to be my guide.
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak
and need HIS strength to carry on.
When I say.. "I am a Christian"
I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed
and need God to clean my mess.
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible
but, God believes I am worth it.
When I say.. "I am a Christian"
I still feel the sting of pain,
I have my share of heartaches
So I call upon His name.
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner
who received God's good grace, somehow.
In Him,
Bill Watts
