Grace

Grace
Rom 3:24

1. Some Questions that Need to Be Asked About Grace

a. What are the characteristics of a true gift?

(1) The giver does all of the work

(2) It was the giver’s idea

(3) The giver bears all the cost

(4) It is given for pure motives

(5) It is given for the benefit of the recipient

(6) It makes the giver joyful when it is received and appreciated

(7) The quality and value of the gift reflect back on the giver

b. What caused God to give us salvation by His grace?

(1) The answer, first of all, is nothing—The Grace of God is unmotivated outside of His own purpose, love, mercy, will, and good pleasure—(2 Tim 1:9) "who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,"

(2) God created us for His own glory, and for His pleasure—(Rev 4:11) ""You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.""

(3) God has no needs, so He did not create us nor save us because we can add anything to Him—(Acts 17:25) ""Nor is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed anything…."

(4) God was not lonesome—He has forever enjoyed the perfect internal relationship between the Father, Son, and Spirit—(John 17:24) ""…You loved Me before the foundation of the world."

(5) God was not required to create us, and He is not subject to the whims and laws of the universe He Himself created.

(6) God created us for one reason—to bring glory to Him—(Isa 43:7) "Everyone who is called by My name, Whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him.""

2. “…being justified freely…”

a. “…freely…” The word means “without a cause…”

(1) Sometimes in the Bible, we miss a word that is not as obvious as another word, or that seems to be repetitious.

(2) The Truth is, the Holy Spirit has a purpose for every word, and here is one whose importance has been overlooked by many

(3) Without a cause—what an introduction to Grace!

(a) Jesus told His disciples to minister without a cause—Mat 10:8 ""Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely [without a cause] you have received, freely give."

(b) They hated Jesus for no reason—John 15:25 ""But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, 'They hated Me without a cause.'"

(c) If salvation is earned by the Law, Christ died for nothing—Gal 2:21 ""I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.""

(d) We who are saved by God’s grace will drink the water of life in Heaven without a price, without a cause—

(i) Rev 21:6 "And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely [without a cause] to him who thirsts."

(ii) Rev 22:17 "And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely."[without a cause]

b. “Without a cause” is a good description of Grace.

(1) Grace is free, FREE!

(2) There is no cause, nor any reason, nor any bribe, price, or contribution from us that leads to our being saved by Grace—it is all without a cause.

(3) Isa 55:1 ""Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price…"


3. The Old Testament Root Of Grace—God’s Chesed

a. The multi-faceted character of God—God’s chesedh, one of the most important words in the Old Testament.


b. God’s chesedh—very full term— Chesedh is variously translated as “mercy, lovingkindness, grace etc.,” , perhaps best defined as, “Oh love that will not let me go…”

c. Examples:

(Gen 39:21) "But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him mercy…."

(Exo 15:13) "You in Your mercy have led forth The people whom You have redeemed; You have guided them in Your strength To Your holy habitation."

(Psa 13:5) "But I have trusted in Your mercy; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation."

(Psa 17:7) "Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand, O You who save those who trust in You From those who rise up against them."

(Psa 23:6) "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever."

(Psa 33:18) "Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who hope in His mercy,"

(Psa 103:8) "The LORD is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy."

(Psa 136) "Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. 2 Oh, give thanks to the God of gods! For His mercy endures forever. 3 Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords! For His mercy endures forever: 4 To Him who alone does great wonders, For His mercy endures forever; 5 To Him who by wisdom made the heavens, For His mercy endures forever…”

d. The word chesedh assumes a covenant with Jehovah

e. When Jehovah wanted to express His character, chesedh, combined with emeth (truth) is the word He used.

· Exo 34:6 "And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth…”

f. God’s Character as Revealed by His Chesed: God is Good

(1) God is Good, Solitary, and Sovereign in all His works—Ps 136:4

(2) God is Good, Solitary, and Sovereign in Creation—136:4-9

(3) God is Good, Solitary, and Sovereign in His Redemptive Acts—136:10-24

(4) God, in His Providence, has acted, and continues to act, in the world of men, controlling the flow of History for His own Glory

(5) God is Good, Solitary, and Sovereign in His common Grace to all mankind. 136:25-26

4. Grace—3:24 “… Being justified freely by his grace…
”
a. What a pair of parallel concepts—free and grace!

b. Basic Facts

(1) In all the vastness of our world, in all of the diversity of religious beliefs, there are only two essential types of belief, works and Grace.

(2) There seem to be many differences between the world's religions, but they are all essentially the same--they all center around human works

(3) Unfortunately, within this group of religions based on human effort are many species of religion that go by the name of Christianity.

(4) The thing that makes Christianity far different from all other religions is the concept of Grace.

(5) Salvation is 100 percent a work of God--we are unable, because of our bondage to sin and rebellion, to do anything meriting God’s favor. God reaches down to save people--He conceived the plan, He sent His Son to accomplish the plan--He does 100% of the work.


c. Undeserved Grace—

(1) What is Grace? God's unmerited favor?

(2) It is not just unmerited favor that constitutes Grace--it is favor shown where there is positive demerit.

(3) To show kindness to a stranger is not Grace, but to show kindness to an enemy, that is Grace.

(4) G-R-A-C-E: God's Riches At Christ's Expense

(5) The objects of His Grace

(a) Spiritually dead sinners—(Rom 3:10-12) "As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one; 11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. 12 They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.""

(Rom 3:23) "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"

(b) Spiritually dead people—‘(Eph 2:1) "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,

(c) Servants of the enemy—2:2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others."

(d) Enemies of God—(Rom 8:6-7) "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be."


d. Unsought Grace

(Eph 2:4-5) "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)…”

(Isa 64:6-7) "But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away. 7 And there is no one who calls on Your name, Who stirs himself up to take hold of You…”

(Rom 3:9-11) "What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. 10 As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one; 11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God."

e. Unbought Grace

(1) G0d's Grace--His Work – Eph 2:8-10:

(2) What is more, we can add nothing

(3) Indeed, to try to add any human works to grace destroys grace—Rom 11:5-6

f. Free Justification through Grace means that salvation is a gift.

(1) God was not obligated to save

(2) God was not compelled to save

(3) God did not have a NEED to save

(4) God saved because of His love and mercy—salvation is a gift!

(Rom 6:23) "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

(Rom 8:32) "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?"

(2 Pet 1:3) "as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,"

g. Signs of Grace

(1) Salvation

(2) Spiritual Gifts—(Rom 12:6) "Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them

(3) Purpose and Providence—(Gen 6:8) "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD."

(a) (Exo 33:16-17) ""…17 So the LORD said to Moses, "I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.""

(b) (Prov 3:34) "Surely He scorns the scornful, But gives grace to the humble."

(4) (Zec 12:10) ""And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn."

(5) Greeting Grace

(a) (Heb 13:25) "Grace be with you all. Amen."

(b) (Col 4:18) "This salutation by my own hand; Paul. Remember my chains. Grace be with you. Amen."

(c) (2 Th 2:16) "Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace,"

(6) Strengthening Grace—(2 Tim 2:1) "You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus."

h. The Source of Grace—

(1) (John 1:14) "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."

(2) (John 1:16-17) "And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."