The Grace of God

James R. Davis

We often reject the biblical description of man as a sinner. But Paul said, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23). Many ignore Isaiah's statement, "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear." (Isaiah 59:1-2) A person is dead in sin and one's life must be spiritually and morally regenerated. (Ephesians 2:1-2) Psychology, "positive thinking" or do-it-yourself schemes will not erase sin. Only God's grace through Jesus Christ can save men.

To think of ourselves as sinners does not degrade us. The Bible is not written to condemn, but to tell of our worth. "For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved." (John 3:17) The laws of God are not designed to fill man with guilt and rob him of happiness. The Bible is written because God believes that all men are worth redeeming. The Psalmist said, "What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour." (Psalm 8:4-5)

Understanding the Consequences of Sin

God did not arbitrarily make laws condemning what He disliked and approving the things He enjoyed. Man may work that way, but God does not. The reason sin is wrong is because of its very nature. Those things that by their very nature bring heartache and sorrow, God has called sin and forbidden us to partake, even though they bring momentary pleasure.

The consequences of our sin are much more than we could ever imagine. Ask the person serving a life sentence in prison, or the lady who has just given birth out of wedlock, or the person dying from a disease contacted as a result of immoral sexual behavior, or the divorcee whose marriage was destroyed by alcohol, or the person grieving over a misspent life. Ask these about the consequences of our sin.

The eternal cost of sin is much worse. John said, "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." (Revelation 20:15) The sinner will experience the wrath of God. That is the natural consequence of sin.

Understanding the Purpose of God's Grace

God's grace is designed to relieve sinful man of a guilt-stricken conscience. Isaiah said, "But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire an dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked." (Isaiah 57:20-21) Sin robs man of inner peace and happiness. God's forgiveness is extended through the blood of Christ. Paul said, "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord . . . There is therefore no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 7:25; 8:1)

God's grace also gives man strength to live the Christian life. Paul had a fleshly weakness; the messenger of Satan tormented him. Paul ask God to remove the difficulty and God said, "My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9) Paul said that God would not allow Satan to tempt us above that we are able to stand. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

God's grace assures the Christian of continual forgiveness. It is impossible for the Christian to live life completely free of sin. John told the first century Christians, "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:7-9) When the one strives to walk in the light of the gospel one is assured of forgiveness.

The ultimate goal of God is to destroy sin and its consequences once and for all. It is difficult for man to fully understand the battle presently being waged between good and evil. But God assures that the victory belongs to him. John said, "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; For the former things are passed . . .. And there shall in no wise inter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life." (Revelation 21:4,27)

Understanding the Obligation of Grace

God's grace is not unconditional. This means that there is something that man must do to obtain salvation. It is assumed by many that we are under no obligation to meet certain conditions forth by God. Others assume that if there are certain conditions that must be met, then it is no longer grace. It is true that salvation is freely given to all, but it is also true that all men must freely receive it through obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Salvation can come through grace of God and still be conditional. The doctrine of conditional salvation runs through out the Bible. Ezekiel said, "But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby." (Ezekiel 33:19) The wicked can be saved provided they turn from their wickedness. Jesus said, "Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 7:21) There is no salvation outside of the kingdom and only those who do the will of God may enter the kingdom. The rich young ruler asked Jesus, "What good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" Jesus replied, "If thou wouldest enter into life, keep the commandments." Jesus taught that one must do something to be saved. This same teaching holds true today. The Hebrew writer wrote, " . . . he (Christ) became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him." (Hebrews 5:9) Salvation is based upon man's obedience to the author of his eternal salvation. Salvation does come by grace, but it is conditional.

God's grace is powerless to save without our cooperation. We must understand that God's grace can be received in vain. Paul said, "And working together with him we entreat also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. (1 Corinthians 6:1) If God's grace alone saved without our cooperation, why would Paul be urging us not to receive it in vain?

Paul said, "But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." (1 Corinthians 15:10) God's grace made Paul what he was because he labored and cooperated with it for his own spiritual growth and development.

Once there was a young boy of poor circumstances. He had no home and no means of livelihood. A rich man found him and took him into his home. He gave the young man a home and educated him. When the young man grew up and became successful, he looked back on his life and said, "By the grace of this man I am what I am." But suppose that this young man refused the help extended to him. The graciousness of the rich man would have been bestowed in vain. So it is with God's grace.

There is a divine and human side to Salvation. On the divine side God furnishes the necessary conditions to bring salvation to man. On the human side faith must perform the necessary conditions to benefit from the blessings provided by grace. Paul said, "For by grace are ye saved through faith." (Ephesians 2:8)

God has always saved in exactly the same way. God told Noah to build an ark and Noah through faith was obedient to the commands of God, "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith." (Hebrews 11:7) God told the Israelites in Egypt to smear Lamb's blood over the lintels of the doors to avoid the death of their firstborn. (Exodus 12) Naaman was told to dip seven times in the Jordan River to be healed of his leprosy. Through faith Naaman was obedient to the commands of the prophet and was healed.

The Ephesians were dead in sin, but they had received God's grace and were made alive again. (Ephesians 2:1) Through faith they obediently obeyed God's commands. They had heard the word of truth, the gospel of their salvation and they believed. (Ephesians 1:13) They had been taught repentance. (Acts 20:21) They had confessed their deeds. (Acts 19:18) They were baptized for the forgiveness of their sins. (Acts 19:5; 2:38) Upon their obedience to the commands of God they were resurrected from the grave of sin.

The grace of God is freely and fully extended to men of every generation upon the same terms. One must come to the realization that he is a sinner. One must bring himself to understand the nature of sin and its temporal and eternal consequences. One must recognize the remedy for sin, the blood of Christ. Then one must respond in faith to the same terms that the Ephesians responded too. Then and only then will one be resurrected from the grave of sin.

Paul told the Ephesian elders, "And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified." (Acts 20:32) Won't you today respond to the word of God's grace and allow it to build you up and give you an inheritance among all them that are sanctified?