01.14. Grace

GRACE Memory Verses:Ephesians 2:8-9;Titus 2:11-12.

Grace is favor, sometimes defined as unmerited favor. It must be embodied in some benefit supplying some need. To be of any benefit a gift must be usable. To throw a drowning man a deed to a diamond mine in South Africa would not supply his needs, for he could not use it; and, in no sense, would it be grace to him. And to offer the sinner a salvation that he is unable to appropriate is not grace, or favor.

GRACE CAME BY CHRIST

"The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17). This does not mean that no sort of grace, or favor, was ever extended to anyone before Christ came. "Noah found favor in the eyes of Jehovah" (Genesis 6:8). "It shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear, for I am gracious" (Exodus 22:27). "And Jehovah passed by before him, and proclaimed, Jehovah, Jehovah, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth" (Exodus 34:6). "For thou wilt bless the righteous; 0 Jehovah, thou wilt compass him with favor as with a shield" (Psalms 5:12). "A good man shall obtain favor of Jehovah" (Proverbs 12:2). But Christ brought grace to the world in a pre-eminent sense—his is specially a dispensation of grace. In him God’s grace is manifested to the world in the supreme degree. "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

SOME MANIFESTATIONS OF GRACE

Wherever God has supplied man’s needs, that is God’s favor, God’s grace to man. God supplied man’s greatest need when he sent his Son to die for man. Without this, man’s estate was utterly hopeless. He could provide no means of escape from his own sins and their consequences. But man needed to know of God’s love and his wonderful sacrifice, and he needed to know how to appropriate the benefits of this sacrifice. And as "it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps," he needed to know how to live so as to escape the follies and sins about him, and finally to enter in through the gates into the city of God. In the church God has supplied man’s need of a spiritual home. Here his need for spiritual training, growth and development is met. In the Bible we have a revelation of all these things. Thus the Bible, supplying some of man’s urgent needs, is itself a manifestation of God’s grace. In it God reveals himself and the origin and nature of man, gives man the true philosophy of life, shows him how to be saved from his sins, and points the way to life eternal. The world is too much inclined to regard the Bible as something that God has imposed upon the world. This is because we fail to realize man’s condition and real needs. No greater favor could be bestowed on a lost man than to show him the way out. Man was hopelessly lost in the wilderness of sin, and God’s commands point the way out. Hence, God’s commands meet man’s need for guidance, and are a manifestation of his favor towards man. Of course, the greatest exhibition of God’s grace is seen in the gift of his Son, Jesus Christ; but, next to that, his greatest favor to man is seen in the very command he has given for man’s guidance. God’s commands grow out of man’s needs, and every command of God is full of God’s grace. Therefore, to set aside God’s commands as of no consequence is to repudiate a part of God’s grace.

SALVATION CONDITIONAL The idea that salvation by grace frees one from the necessity of performing any conditions thereunto has become so thoroughly embedded in the hearts of some that it is hard for them to see that salvation may be by grace and yet conditional; but that salvation is conditional is clearly taught in the Scriptures. Jesus said, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven." There can be no salvation out of the kingdom of heaven, and only those who do the will of God can enter the kingdom. The doctrine of conditional salvation runs through the entire Bible. "But if the wicked turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die" (Ezekiel 18:21). "For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord Jehovah: wherefore turn yourselves, and live" (Ezekiel 18:32). The sinner is dead in his sins. The question of all ages has been, "How can we live?" Israel of old raised that question: "Our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we pine away in them; how then can we live" (Ezekiel 33:19). "You can do nothing," say some; but the Lord answers, "Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn away from his way and live" (Ezekiel 33:11). But what is the doctrine of Jesus? A certain man asked him, Teacher, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?" This man understood salvation to be conditional, and Jesus did not rebuke him for so thinking. He confirmed the idea by saying, "If thou wouldst enter into life, keep the commandments." See Matthew 19:16-17. The same principle holds good now, for Paul affirms that Jesus "became unto all them that obey him the author of eternal salvation" (Hebrews 5:9). If you do not obey Jesus, he is not the author of your salvation; and without him there is, there can be, no salvation. Heathen though he was, the Philippian jailer understood that he had to do something to be saved. "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" Paul did not try to show him he was wrong in so thinking, but replied, "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house" (See Acts 16:29-31).

Numerous other passages teach that men are lost on account of their wickedness. Now, no man can prove conditional damnation, and unconditional salvation. If one is unconditional, so is the other; the converse is also true. If men are lost because of a certain course of life, then the opposite course would bring salvation, for the simple reason that the cause of their damnation would not exist. If disobedience brings death, then the absence of disobedience, which is obedience, would bring life. In fact, Jesus so teaches in the contrast which he gives in Matthew 7:24-27 : "Every one therefore that heareth these words of mine and doeth them shall be likened unto a wise man, who built his house upon the rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not; for it was founded upon the rock. And every one that hearth these words of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and smote upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall thereof." The same fact is present in Paul’s contrast in Romans 2:4-11.

SOME OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED

(1)Grace and Works. But the following scriptures are relied on to prove that salvation is unconditional: "But if it is by grace, it is no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace" (Romans 11:6). "Now to him that worketh, the reward is not reckoned as of grace, but as of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness" (Romans 4:4-5) .One thing is certain, namely, Paul is not here condemning faithful obedience to God; neither is he condemning salvation by works as a thing sinful, for he plainly affirms that the works of which he speaks bring salvation as a debt. But what does he mean? We will not understand him if we do not catch the purpose and trend of his argument. The Jew claimed salvation on the grounds of his adherence to the law of Moses; some of the Gentiles, especially the Greeks, claimed that adherence to moral laws and philosophies was sufficient. Both depended on works apart from any system of grace. Paul’s argument is intended to convince them of their need of Christ. Depending on their works, as they were, they could see no need of Christ, nor of the grace of God offered through him. To be saved by works apart from grace, works must be perfect; there must be no sin needing God’s forgiving grace. If a man never committed a sin of any sort, if no guilt ever attached to him, he would go to heaven by right on the grounds of perfect works and without grace. Having committed no sin, he could not be condemned; and his works being perfect, he would merit justification, and God would grant him salvation as a debt. This is what Paul contemplates when he speaks of salvation by works without grace. But his argument is that no one has so lived, that all, both Jew and Gentile, have sinned. The moment one sins, he is condemned. If he is ever saved it will not be because God owes it to him as a debt. Defective works mixed with sinful practices can never bring salvation as a debt. All have sinned, all need forgiveness, and works cannot forgive, neither does law. Having sinned a man forfeits all rights to heaven; if he is ever saved, it must be an act of favor on the part of God, for God owes him nothing. This grace, this favor, which we all need, can be obtained only through Christ, through faith in him. Whether there be one condition of salvation or a dozen required as a means of testing our faith and proving our willingness for God to rule in our hearts has nothing to do with Paul’s argument; for no amount of works that a condemned sinner can perform will ever bring salvation to him as a debt. The sinner who believes and is baptized (Mark 16:16) is saved by grace.

(2)Faith and Works. To some there seems to be a conflict between Paul in the passages under consideration and James (James 2:14-26). Even Luther so thought. But there is no conflict. Paul is showing that, our works being imperfect, we can be saved only through the forgiveness offered in Christ; and James is showing that our faith in Christ is imperfect and incapable of justification unless it leads to works. Paul shows that works without faith in Christ will not save, and James shows that even this faith in Christ will not save unless it works. "Faith apart from works is barren." "Ye see that by works a man is justified, and not only by faith."

(3)Grace and Baptism. "Not by works done in righteousness, which we did ourselves but according to his mercy he saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:5). The thought here is much the same as in Romans 4:4-5. Our salvation is not due to the righteousness of our works, but to the mercy and grace of Jehovah. Favor is extended to the needy; mercy, to the criminal. We are both needy and criminal; needy, because we are criminal. And our salvation is not due to the perfection of our works. But some have used this verse in an effort to prove that salvation does not depend on our being baptized. But Paul is not here talking about the condition upon which God in his mercy proposes to forgive the sinner. If he were, what he says would come nearer militating against faith and repentance than against baptism; for he says these works of which he speaks and by which we are not saved are things "which we did ourselves." In believing and repenting the sinner is active—these are things he does himself—but in baptism he is passive—it is something done to him. "Believe on the Lord Jesus," "Repent," so run the commands; the sinner is active in both. He himself believes and repents, but he is commanded to "be baptized." Baptism is something done to him; in it he is passive. Baptism is not something a man does himself; it is something done to him. But who does it? What saith the Scriptures? "When therefore the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples, he left Judea, and departed again into Galilee" (John 4:1-3). Here we learn that Jesus made and baptized disciples), yet in person he baptized no one, but his disciples did. His disciples as his agents did the baptizing, and a person is said to do what he does through his agents. The administrator now is the Lord’s agent; and every one who is baptized in obedience to the Lord’s command is as truly baptized by the Lord as were those spoken of in John 4:1-3. Hence, baptism, even should you call it a work of righteousness, is not a work of righteousness "which we do ourselves," but which the Lord did through his agents for us. "The washing of regeneration" is baptism. Instead, therefore, of antagonizing the doctrine that baptism is a condition of salvation, Paul here affirms that we are not saved by works of righteousness which we did ourselves, but, according to God’s mercy, we are saved by baptism, or the washing of regeneration.

GRACE RECEIVED IN VAIN

2 Corinthians 6:1. "And working together with him we entreat also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain." No one could receive the grace of God in vain if it accomplishes its purpose without conditions on our part. Besides, if grace saves us without our cooperation, why should Paul exhort them not to receive it in vain? No one has anything to do with receiving anything that comes to him unconditionally. But, and let us speak it reverently, God’s grace is powerless to accomplish anything for you without your co-operation.

1 Corinthians 15:10. "But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not found in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." God’s grace made Paul what he was, because it was not bestowed upon him in vain; and it was not bestowed upon him in vain because he labored, cooperated with God’s grace in his own conversion and in the growth and development of his own character. Should a benevolent man of means find a poor, homeless boy, ragged and dirty, and take him to his own home, bathe and clothe him, feed and educate him, he would be bestowing his grace upon the boy. When the boy makes a successful and useful man he could look back to his benefactor and say of him, "By his grace I am what I am." But had the boy been unruly and refused to study, the man’s grace would have been bestowed on him in vain.

GRACE COMES TO ALL

If people are saved by grace without conditions on their part, why are not all saved? Grace comes to all. "For the grace of God hath appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us, to the intent that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly and righteously and godly in this present world" (Titus 2:11-12). The grace of God comes to all teaching us. Some refuse the teaching; hence grace has no opportunity to confer upon them the salvation it brings to all. God’s grace provided the means of our salvation, brings salvation to us and teaches us how to appropriate it. The next move is ours. This is illustrated by the event of Pentecost (Acts 2). God had provided salvation, and through Peter made it known to the people, and graciously taught them how to obtain the remission of sins. The issue then rested with the people. The next move was theirs. But so much was at stake Peter earnestly exhorted them to make that move, saying, "Save yourselves from this crooked generation" (Acts 2:40). They could save themselves only by performing the conditions upon which salvation was so graciously offered. They were too anxious about their salvation and too intelligent to hesitate and argue that obedience on their part would eliminate grace. They felt the guilt of sin so heavily that they knew that any means of escape offered them was a matter of great favor, great grace to them. Hence they made no delay in being baptized. An Illustration. Two small boys, walking along a railway near a country village in Tennessee, discovered a broken rail. They knew the passenger train was about due, and their hearts went out in sympathy for all on the train. They rushed up the track, and as the train came in sight one of the boys began manfully to wave his red handkerchief. This was his only means of teaching the engineer that danger was ahead. The engineer stopped the train and saved himself and all on board. Their grace appeared, bringing salvation by teaching the engineer. He gave heed and saved the train from wreck, but had he refused to heed the teaching and plunged on into destruction, the grace of the boys would all have been in vain. By their grace on the one hand, and through the engineer’s faith in them on the other, the train was saved. Hence, I think we can easily see how we are SAVED BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH

"For by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, that no man should glory" (Ephesians 2:8-9). Grace provided salvation and teaches how to appropriate its benefits; and we, through our faith, lay hold of the salvation offered. On Pentecost (Acts 2), the people were saved by grace through faith, simply because their confidence in God led them to perform the conditions announced to them.

Divine and Human Sides of Salvation. There are two sides to the matter of salvation, the divine and the human; and there are two principles of operation, grace and faith. On the divine side grace performed the necessary conditions to bring salvation to man; and on the human side faith must perform the necessary conditions to appropriate the blessings provided by grace. Hence we are saved by grace through faith. Grace on the part of God made Naaman’s cure possible ; faith that led Naaman to carry out God’s stipulated conditions made the cure a reality.

Other Illustrations. Noah found favor with God, and God saved him from the flood. But there were two sides to his salvation, the divine and the human, grace and faith. Grace made his salvation possible, and faith, active faith, prepared the ark (Hebrews 11:7). He was, therefore, saved by grace through faith. Jesus looked with favor on the blind man (John 9:1-41). Having anointed his eyes with clay, Jesus commanded him to go and wash in the pool of Siloam. By faith he went and washed, and came seeing. He was cured by grace through faith.

Salvation is the free gift of God; but it takes two to perfect a gift, one to make the offer and another to accept. That which is thrust on us without our consent is, in no sense, a gift. God gave Israel Jericho (Joshua 6:1-27), but they had to do certain things to come into possession of the gift. He gave them the land of Canaan, but they had to subdue it. Both gifts came to them by grace through faith. The Marriage Feast. Read Matthew 22:1-14. The feast was prepared, and the announcement was made: "All things are now ready: come to the marriage feast." Note carefully the expression: "All things are now ready." The feast was fully prepared and ready for the people, and they were invited to enjoy its bounties. The next move was theirs. And Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is like this. This was a free feast, graciously prepared for the people; but many of them did not eat. The feast was not crammed down unwilling throats, and the kingdom of heaven is like this.

TOPICS FOR INVESTIGATION AND DISCUSSION

QUESTIONS

What did one ask Jesus concerning eternal life?