A Few Forgotten Words

Introduction: Neglected or forgotten words can often times cause us problems, many times just as many problems as misspoken words do. We must never forget words like “I’m sorry,” “Thank you,” “I made a mistake.” “I love you,” etc. Likewise we should never underestimate the power of commonplace words that are often overlooked, such as at the beginning and the end of a letter. Openings and closings are crucial in communicating our messages and we dare not neglect them.

Background: of the fourteen letters written by or believed to have been written by the Apostle Paul, all but Hebrews is introduced with the words “Grace” and “Peace” He greets Timothy, Titus, and the others to whom he writes with these two words. When writing to Timothy, he also included the word “Mercy,” probably because in this situation his son in the faith was facing an extremely tough situation. The word “Grace” (karis) is the greatest of the Greek greetings and the word “Peace” (shalom) is the greatest of the Hebrew greetings. These important and often neglected or forgotten words set the tone for all Paul’s writings, thus

Proposition: These words that we find at the beginning of Paul’s letters, though small in size are enormous in meaning.

Transition: We do well if we listen for the echoes of these words through scripture. When we do we can hear some of what Timothy, Titus and those who these letters were written to heard. Let us consider this morning these three words, first we want to notice that…

I. THESE WORDS ARE THREE DISCRIPTIONS OF GOD

a. Our God is a God of “Grace”

- This grace is “generous” in nature; it is not begrudging or forced

- God gives us that which we need, not necessarily what we deserve

- Often referred to as “God’s gift at Christ’s expense”

- It could all be summed up in two words “Unmerited favor”

- His grace is universal in its nature in that God is not wanting any to perish but that all would come to repentance (2nd Peter 3:9) (Billy Graham’s speeding ticket)

- God’s grace is all powerful, it is greater than all the sin and evil in the world (Romans 6:23)

- To greet somebody with “Grace” is to bless them with God’s life sustaining grace

b. Our God is a God of “Peace”

- This peace is more than simply an absence of conflict

- It’s the blessing of well being in the fullest sense of the word

- It’s not dependent on the good times, but it often comes when a sea of trouble is swirling around us (George and his sister)

- To greet someone with “peace” is to bless them with God’s everlasting peace, that which passes all understanding

c. Our God is a God of “Mercy”

- God’s mercy towards us reveals His heart of compassion

- In the same way that “grace” is unmerited, likewise “mercy” is also unmerited

- We receive mercy when justice is what we deserve

- He forgives us our sins because He loves us and through that love outpours His mercy (Romans 5:8)

- God helps us when we are incapable of helping ourselves, because of His mercy… dispels the notion that God is a vindictive God

- To greet someone with “mercy” is to bless them with God’s unwavering mercy.

Transition: Beyond being wonderful descriptions of our God…

II. THESE WORDS ARE ILLUSTRATED BY THREE OF THE PARABLES

a. Our God’s “Grace” is illustrated by the parable of the prodigal son

- The father didn’t