Grace Part 1

Grace grace: Favour, favourable or benignant regard or its manifestation (now only on the part of a superior); favour or goodwill, in contradistinction to right or obligation, as the ground of a concession. I. God’s grace towards sinners is the basis of every good thing in this life and the life to come. A. When God in the fulness of time became incarnate, He was described as “...full of grace and truth” (JOH 1:14). He remains full. 1PE 5:10; 2CO 9:8. B. It was said of Jesus Christ in prophecy, “...grace is poured into thy lips...” (PSA 45:2). From heaven He speaks salvation for His people, not the wrath that sin merits. HEB 12:24-25. C. During His ministry on earth, men “...wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth...” (LUK 4:22). 1. He spoke as one that had authority for edification, not as the scribes. MAR 1:22 c/w 2CO 10:8. 2. Works-righteousness religion such as the scribes represented will not build up (edify) the hearers but puff up the teacher while breaking down the hearer with unbearable burdens that only grace resolves. LUK 15:2; 18:9 ct/w ACT 15:10-11. 3. The heart will never be established (made firm, settled) by carnal religion but only by grace. HEB 9:9-10; 13:9. D. Because He by Himself did for sinners what they could not possibly do for themselves, they are constrained to glorify Him. HEB 1:3; REV 5:9-14. E Christ is the Rock of salvation upon which His church is built and its anthem should ever be as Zerubbabel’s for that OT house: Grace, grace. MAT 16:18 c/w ZEC 4:6-7. II. Whatever benefit is according to God’s grace is a benefit that sinners have no right to. A. The lawful end of sin is death and wrath from God. ROM 6:23; EPH 2:3; REV 20:14-15. 1. God had no legal obligation to save any of Adam’s posterity from their fate, nor could sinners have any claim on Him to concede a different fate. 2. That any are delivered from this fate is owing to grace which excludes boasting. EPH 2:8-9. 3. This grace cannot be earned or demanded since it is God’s prerogative alone to extend it according to His own purpose. 2TI 1:9. 4. This grace accords with another sovereign purpose of God on which the sinner has no claim: mercy. TIT 3:5-7. a. mercy: Forbearance and compassion shown by one person to another who is in his power and who has no claim to receive kindness; kind and compassionate treatment in a case where severity is merited or expected. b. Mercy, like grace, is the province of God alone to give. ROM 9:15-16. c. God’s people should come to grips with this principle that prevents their utter consumption. LAM 3:1, 19-23. B. If a saved sinner by Christ is able to access the throne of grace as needed (HEB 4:16), that is only because God has by His grace made that approach possible by the forgiveness of his sins according to His own purpose and grace in Christ. EPH 1:3-7. C. If a saved sinner has been given preference in His kingdom, it is certainly not because he had a right to that or earned it. 1TI 1:12-15; 1CO 4:7; JOH 3:27; 1CO 15:9-10. D. If a saved sinner is moved and empowered to give of the fruit of his labors for godly purposes, that is a grace that traces a path all the way back up to divine grace in Christ. Grace 6-18-23 Page 1  2CO 8:1-2, 9; 9:7-8, 14-15. E. Indeed, “And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace” (JOH 1:16). F. God owes sinners nothing: no favor, no mercy. He has ever been the “I AM” (EXO 3:14) and ever will be, well able to exist and satisfy Himself without us. That He out of love has taken an interest in sinners should humble, arouse and drive us to grateful pleasings by faith and godly living. TIT 2:11-14. G. Acceptance of these humbling realities actually opens the door for more grace. JAM 4:5-6; 1PE 5:5-6. H. In times of personal affliction, we do well to remember that it is better with us than what we deserve and that the best is yet to come. PSA 103:10; 2CO 12:7-10. III. The first appearance of the word “grace” is in GEN 6:8. A. Noah by nature was as deserving as wrath as the rest of the world. B. Interestingly, the same Hebrew letters that are the basis of “Noah” are also the basis of “grace,” but reversed in order. 1. Noah’s name means “rest.” 2. There is no rest without grace. GAL 3:10. 3. God’s grace fits us to perceive Christ as our rest and reflect Him in life. MAT 11:28-29; 2CO 3:14-18. C. Noah’s salvation was that of a righteous man for whose sake others were saved: a federal headship salvation. GEN 7:1, 7 c/w 1PE 3:20-21. 1. He and those given to him were temporarily shut up in an ark (A chest, box, coffer, close basket, or similar receptacle) and saved from wrath. c/w ROM 4:25; COL 3:1. 2. The satisfaction of justice was the salvation of Noah and his crowd. 1PE 3:20. D. God’s sworn promise of salvation through the blood of the everlasting covenant (TIT 1:1-2; HEB 13:20) is of enduring mercy and kindness as certain as His promise after the flood. ISA 54:7-10 c/w ROM 8:28-39. IV. One might get the impression that grace is the key to everything: eternal life, abundant living, peace in the soul, rest, hope, etc. and that we should not receive it in vain but employ it in happy service to God. 2CO 6:1; COL 4:6; HEB 12:28. Grace 6-18-23 Page 2