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What is Grace? Faith without Deeds is dead We are freed from the Law, but Faith and Grace places a higher expectation on the Believer
2 Corinthians 5:21
Christ never sinned.
But God made Christ to bear our sin on our behalf, so that Christ could make us
acceptable to God. God put the blame
for our sin on Christ that we may become the righteousness of God.
Grace is God’s special love and unmerited favor to the
undeserving sinner. It is clemency, reprieve, and mercy. Grace is the means to our redemption and
salvation.
Titus 3:4-7 states,
In goodness, kindness, and mercy, God our Savior appeared with His love for
humanity and saved us from the punishment of sin--not on the basis any of our
deeds we have done in righteousness but according to His mercy. We received the cleansing bath of
regeneration and renewing by the power of the Holy Spirit. He gave us new birth and a fresh
beginning poured out upon us richly and freely through Jesus Christ our Savior
to fill our lives, so that being justified by His grace and His favor--wholly
undeserved--we would be acknowledged and made acceptable heirs according to the
hope of eternal life. In this we are
made right with God as His children as He has promised.
Ephesians 2:8-9 states:
For it is by free grace--by God's unmerited favor--that
you are saved. You are delivered from judgment and made
partakers of Christ's salvation through your faith. And this salvation is not of your own
doing. It did not come as a result
of your own striving by works, but it is the gift of God. Because it is not of works--not the
fulfillment of the Law's demands--there is nothing upon which anyone can boast
that they earned it. It is not the
result of what anyone possibly can do; therefore no one can pride themself in it
or take glory to themself.
Clearly, a sinner is saved by Grace alone.
But a Christ follower is to be moved to perform kind acts. James 2:14-25 states:
Faith and Deeds
What good is it if a person claims to have faith but
performs no deeds? Can such faith save him?Suppose someone
is without clothes and daily food.
If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but
does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it
is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I
will show you my faith by what I do.
You believe that there is one God.
Excellent! But even the
demons believe that--and shudder.
You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith
without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered
righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions
were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that
says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and
he was called God's friend. You see
that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what
she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different
direction? As the body without the
spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
What is the rightful place of Grace in the Christian
experience? Repeating again that Grace is God’s
loving favor to the undeserving, we must conclude those those who receive Grace
are always undeserving. If they ever
cease to be so and become deserving, then to call anything they receive Grace
would be the application of a wrong label.
Grace no more would be grace because individuals could earn or purchase
this blessing. This departs from
Scriptural Truth. Our Salvation
through Grace already has been purchased by Jesus Christ on the Cross. One does not buy a gift when given it,
but receives it humbly and gives great thanks.
A perfect persons requires no Grace.
Who of us who proclaim to be complete, whole, and unblemished? To do so would be sin and thus the need
for Grace appears. Ha! See how wonderful the logic is! We each need Grace. We are to strive to perfection, but must
realize that all attempts will fall short because we are of flesh with human
desires. That does not mean we
abandon the attempt for we each must make ourself as pure and perfect as
possible.
Matthew 5:48 tells us:
"Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
And I Peter 1:16 states: "It is written: 'Be holy,
because I am holy.'"
This is how we humbly give thanks for the gift of life and
life everafter that Jesus Christ secured for each of us.
We must model ourselves after the template given to us--the life of Jesus. We are to emulate Him. This is the basis for WWJD? [What would
Jesus do?]
Christ followers are held to the highest standard; they do
not designate transgressions as mere infirmities or weaknesses, but rather are
willing to call all shortcomings and sins by their true names. Each of us needs to assess our actions
and thoughts honestly because God maintains purity in Heaven; He cannot look
upon sin. Therefore we each must
confess and repent in order that we can be washed clean by the cleansing blood
of our Savior Jesus Christ.
A Christian must not look for Grace--for it is God’s love
and favor to the undeserving. It is
given as God deems. We must
recognize that as we treat others, so will we be treated.
Matthew 18:21-35
A Parable about Forgiveness
Peter asked Jesus, "Master, how many times do I forgive
someone who sins against me and hurts me?
Seven times?"
Jesus replied, "Seven times!
Hardly. Try seventy times seven.
Jesus then told this parable:
The kingdom of God is like a king who decided to square
accounts with his servants.
One man was brought before him who had run up a sizeable
of a great sum.
He couldn't pay up, so the king ordered the man's property
to be seized, and commanded that the man, his wife, and children be sold as
slaves.
The poor wretch threw himself at the king's feet and
begged, "Give me a chance and I'll pay it all back."
Touched by his plea, the king released the man and erased
the debt.
The man was no sooner out of the room when he came upon a
fellow servant who owed him an insignificant sum.
The man seized him by the throat and demanded of the
fellow servant, "Pay up, now!"
The poor fellow servant threw himself down and begged,
"Give me a chance and I'll pay it all back."
But the man refused to do so.
He had the fellow servant arrested and put in jail until
the debt was paid.
When the other servants saw this going on, they were
outraged and brought a detailed report to the king.
The king summoned the man and said, "You evil servant! I
forgave your entire debt when you begged me for mercy.
Shouldn't you be compelled to be merciful to your fellow servant who
asked for mercy?"
The king was furious and had the man sent to be tortured
until he paid back his entire debt.
And that's exactly what my Father in heaven is going to do
to each one of you who doesn't forgive unconditionally in your heart and your
actions anyone who asks for mercy.
In this parable, Is shown the strong contrast between Law
and Grace. Law knows nothing about making up
deficiencies. It is applied
mechanically. The slightest
infraction or breach means the loss of all.
James 2:10 states: “For whoever
keeps the whole law and yet stumbles on just one point is guilty of breaking all
of it." There is no partial
credit; it is an unyeilding system.
Those who cling to Legalism always will fall short. Grace bridges the gap--no matter how
small a crack or large a chasm--that exists in falling short of perfect
adherence to the strictures of Law.
Christians need to acknowledges and remember that Grace
exists to supplement their failure.
We dishonor God when we limit the operation of Grace.
We are to develop the higher principles of love and devotion. We are very imperfect and must exercise
of patience and wisdom with each other in large measure. This is a prudent investment when we
consider the dividends paid in mutual, reciprocal love and respect for each
other.
The Enemies of Grace
One needs to be vigilant to guard against those who would
misapply the principles of Law, Works and Character.
Each of these three are in themselves and in their proper context excellent
things, but when wrongly placed--they become intruders and trespassers upon
Grace. Law, Works and Character are not to
occupy a position which God never intended for them.
Law is defined as the distinct Mosaic strictures--the
regulations given to God’s chosen people, Israel.
In its proper place this Law is highly commended.
I Timothy 1:8-9
We know these laws are good when they are used as God intended. But they were not made for people who are
righteous and do what is proper.
They are for people who are disobedient and rebellious, who are ungodly,
profane, and sinful, who consider nothing sacred and defile what is holy, who
murder their father, mother, or others.
The use of the Law for believers has passed away--its
claim upon them was annulled by the Cross.
Galatians 3:19-26
The purpose of the Law was to keep a sinful people in the
way of salvation until Christ--the descendant--came, inheriting the promises and
distributing them to us. This Law
was not a firsthand encounter with God.
It was arranged by angelic messengers acting as agents of God.
They spoke to our mediator, known to us as Moses. But if there is a mediator, then the
people are not dealing directly with God, are they?
The Original Promise is the direct blessing of God, received by faith.
If such is the case, then is the law an anti-promise; is it a negation of God's
will for us? Not at all!
The Law's purpose was to make obvious to everyone that we are, in
ourselves, out of right relationship with God, and therefore to show us the
futility of devising some religious system for getting by our own efforts what
we can only get by waiting in faith for God to complete His promise. For if any
kind of rule-keeping had power to create life in us, we certainly would have
gotten it by this time. Until the
time when we were mature enough to respond freely in faith to the Living God, we
were carefully surrounded and protected by Mosaic Law. The Law was our tutor to escort
us--protecting from danger and distraction--so that we will arrive at the place
set as a destination. But now you
have arrived at your destination; by faith in Christ you are in direct
relationship with God as his children.
Are we to conclude that believers have nothing to do with
the Law?
Galatians 4:1-7
Let me show you the implications of this.
As long as an heir is a minor, he has no advantage over a slave. Although legally he owns the entire
inheritance, he is subject to the guardianship of tutors, trustees, and
administrators until the date his father has set for emancipation. That is the way it is with us: When we
were minors, we were just like slaves ordered around by simple instructions
contained in the Law with no say in the conduct of our own lives. We were bound to the rules of Hebrew
ritual and subject to the elementary teachings of a system of external
observations and regulations. But
when the proper time arrived fully that was set by God the Father, He sent his
Son, born among us of a woman, born under the conditions of the Law so that
Jesus Christ can redeem those of us who have been bonded by the Law. Thus we have been set free to experience
our rightful heritage. You can tell
for sure that you are now fully adopted as His own children because God sent the
Spirit of His Son into our lives crying out, "Abba! Father!" Doesn't that privilege of intimate
conversation with God make it plain that you are not a slave, but an God's own
child? And if you are an emancipated
child, you're also an heir, with complete access to the inheritance.
Romans 13:10 records that Christ is the fulfillment of the
Law.
For Christ is the end of the Law--the limit at which it ceases to be, for the
Law leads up to Him, and in Him the purpose which it was designed to accomplish
is fulfilled. The purpose of the Law
is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. All
who believe in Christ--the righteous--and adhere to Him and rely upon Him are
made right with God. In Christ, the
Law is no longer necessary.
According to Romans 13:10, Love is the fulfilling of the
Law.
Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore Love satisfies all the requirements
and is the fulfillment of the Law.
The whole of Law is kept in Love; Love is all the Law demands.
This is referenced frequently in Scripture.
Galatians 5:14
The entire Law is summed up and fulfilled in a single command: "Love your
neighbor as yourself." You obey the
whole Law when you do this one thing.
Matthew 7:12
Jesus said, "So in everything, treat and do toward others in the same manner
that you would have others treat and do toward you--for this sums up the Law and
the Prophets. For when you add up
God's Law and Prophets, this is the summary of all that is commanded and written
as stricture."
Matthew 22:36-40
A Pharisee asked Jesus, "Teacher, which is the greatest
commandment in the Law?"
Jesus replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your mind.
"This is the first, greatest, and foremost commandment.
"And the second is like it--Love your neighbor as
yourself.
"All the Law and the Prophets depend on, stem from, and are based on these two
commandments."
Deuteronomy 6:5
Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all
your soul and with all your strength.
Leviticus 19:18
Never seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone, but love your neighbor as
yourself. I am the LORD.
Romans 13:8
Let love be your only debt. If you
love others, you have fulfilled the Law and done all that it demands.
Galatians 6:2
Bear one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
John 13:34
And Jesus said, "I give you, my disciples, a new command--Love one another. As I
have loved you, so you must love one another in that same way."
All this is summed up in Romans 3:20.
For no person will be justified--made righteous, acquitted, and judged
acceptable--in God's sight by observing the works prescribed by the Law. For the
real function of the Law is to make each of us recognize and be conscious of
sin--not a mere perception, but an acquaintance with sin which works toward
repentance, faith, and holy character.
Works are another good thing that often becomes a deadly
opponent to Grace. This enemy manifests itself in the
activity of Christian life--including religious display.
Works can corrupt Grace in our forms of service--worship, ritual,
architecture, music, contributions, and sacrifices. But how can such good things ever
be wrong? They are gravely wrong and corrupt in
God’s sight when vainly used to promote a soul’s salvation or in any way to
secure merit or standing before God.
Christ has once and forever done this and anything a person does toward
accomplishing the same end only detracts from Christ’s work.
Seeking to supplement the blood sacrifice made on the Cross by human
deeds--no matter how good--is a flagrant offense and a shameful sin against
Grace.
The most widespread heresy in the world is placing
improper emphasis on human effort.
The way to heaven is not by being good or doing good deeds but is by the Cross
where Christ's blood was shed for us.
The believer cannot add to his acceptability in God's sight by being or by doing
good. A believer's standing has been settled by
an entirely different process--the offering of the only perfect or good life
this world has ever seen--that of the spotless Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. There is no place or need for any
auxiliary sacrifice. All anyone can
say when delivered to Glory is “I am here because of the Cross." There is no "and" that attaches to the
end of that statement. God guards us
against any possibility of boasting.
It is by God's mercy alone that we are saved.
The good thing called character may become a great enemy
to Grace. Character is no substitute for Grace or
when it is made to appear like it. Grace
is God’s loving favor to us, the undeserving--while character is the sum of
human excellence. The most abject
sinner is rescued by Grace alone.
The Scriptures show that a person in themself has no real character whatsoever.
Romans 3:10-23
As it is written:
There is no one righteous, not even one.
There is no one who understands; no one who seeks God.
All have turned away; they together have become worthless;
There is no one who does good--not one!
[Psalm 14:1-3; Psalm 53:1-3;
Ecclesiastes 7:20]
Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.
[Psalm 5:9]
The poison of vipers is on their lips.
[Psalm 140:3]
Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.
[Psalm 10:7]
Their feet are swift to shed blood.
Ruin and misery mark their ways.
And the path to peace is unknown to them.
[Isaiah 59:7-8]
There is no fear of God before their eyes.
[Psalm 36:1]
Now we know that whatever the Law says.
It says to those who are under the Law, so that every
mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God
Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God's sight
by observing the law; rather, through the Law we become conscious of sin.
But now a righteousness from God--apart from Law--has been
made known--to which the Law and the Prophets testify.
This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus
Christ to all who believe.
There is no difference--for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Character is no substitute for Grace because we lack pure
Character. Even Peter--the Rock of the
Church--abandoned Character in his attempt to follow Christ.
Consider that he denied Christ three times despite the fact he claimed he
would follow Jesus to death.
[See
Matthew 26:69-75; Mark 14:66-72; Luke 22:55-62; John 18:15-18, 25-27]
In all, some believers attempt to dilute and distort the
Way to Salvation by Faith and Grace by contriving schemes contrary to the Truth
and Christ's Sacrifice.
Grace and its Laws
Despite the apparant contradiction to previously outlined
materials--the fact is there is no realm of life or activity not overseen by
particular rules. Grace is the same--it has an architecture
that must be respected and abided.
A Christian has been freed from the bondage of legality,
dead works, and formality. But the
higher spiritual life lead by Faith and Grace makes demands upon a believer. Christ did not fulfill the Law to deliver
us to chance, chaos or anarchy.
Believers are bound by the Epistles.
1 Corinthians 9:19-27
For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might
win more of them. To the Jews I
became as a Jew, in order to win Jews.
To those under the Law I became as one under the Law--though not being myself
under the law--that I might win those under the law.
To those outside the Law I became as one outside the Law--not being outside the
law of God but under the law of Christ--that I might win those outside the Law.
To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak.
I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the Gospel,
that I may share with them in its blessings.
You know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives
the prize. So run that you may
obtain it. Every athlete exercises
self-control in all things. They do
it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.
So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it
under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
Being a Christ follower means to be free.
In the proper context, the believer truly may say in expression of the liberty
as a Christian--"I can do or be whatever I please." The emphasis is placed upon the last two
words because a true believer is not pleased with many things and because of
this freely chooses to avoid those pursuits that distract from devotion,
adherence, and harmony with the will of God.
Those pursuits have no attraction to the Christ follower.
Service to God becomes a pleasure.
In liberty, a Christian can find the personal path to a free and willing choice
of service. In serving, one must be
of use to others. The person must
consider those tasks and duties that are willingly and unselfishly undertaken. The work at hand is a pleasure and a joy
in glorifying God. Following Christ is a narrow path paved with a sacrifice of ease, comfort, and convenience. But the sacrifice is made gladly for the daily and eternal rewards of a fruitful life it brings. We believers are a testament to the Word of God. And we are guided by Faith and Grace. |