Refusing God's Grace

Refusing the Grace of God.

By Joe Mack Cherry

I. Introduction

A. The Pull of the Old Law

1. Many of the first century Jewish converts struggled with the freedom that the New Law provided.

2. Grace was a foreign concept to these people; the law was strict, rigid, and it had been a way of life for them since it was given to Moses on Mt. Sinai, as recorded in Ex. 19.

3. The passage heading for our text today reads “Warning Against Refusing God”.

B. Text Overview Heb. 12:14-29

1. The writer calls for the pursuit of peace and holiness among members.

2. He commands that no one loses or fails the grace of God.

a. This comes as a command.

b. The responsibility is to self and others as we will see.

3. Refusing God’s grace will lead to sin.

a. Sexual immorality

b. The Sins of Esau

4. He compares and contrasts the Mosaic Law and the Gospel.

5. He warns against refusing God.

II. Vss 14-17

A. Peace with Others

1. Mt 5:9 – “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called sons of God.”

2. Make every effort (NIV)

3. Pursue (NKJV)

a. This indicates action.

b. This commands that we go out of our way to bring peace.

c. In order to do this, we must put aside selfish inclinations and seek the betterment of the individual(s) in the body of Christ.

• I Cor. 13:5 – “love is not self-seeking.”

• Gal. 5:22 – Speaks about the fruits of the Spirit against which there is no law. Peace, Patience, Kindness are included in these.

4. In Gal. 5:20-21 we find sins that do not promote peace.

a. Discord - strife, constant contention, incessant wrangling, usually expresses itself in backbiting and gossip.

b. Selfish ambitions - acting in a way that considers no one but oneself. No room for growth.

c. Dissensions - holding on to a self-serving opinion; gives reference to becoming a self-mercenary. Fighting for the sake of being right in regard to matters not pertaining to salvation. This is the opposite of the teachings of Rom. 12. where we are told consider the weaker brother.

d. Factions – dissentions arising from a difference in opinion or aims; this happened in the Corinthian church - I Cor. 1:12. Today we might call them church cliques.

e. Look at the sins that are mentioned almost in the same breath:

Sexual immorality, hatred, fits of rage, witchcraft, envy.

B. Peace and Holiness

1. Peace – Gr. this word is used to indicate a wholeness or oneness among all the essential parts.

2. Holiness – some versions use “sanctification” (set apart to be like Christ)

a. Def. – consecrated to God’s service and strive to conform to all things that are God’s will.

b. Christ would never compromise truth.

c. Being more Christ-like means seeking peace or putting others first.

d. We are a peculiar people. (We are God’s children and we should act accordingly.) I Pet. 2:9

3. These two are partners, if they become separated one of two things happen:

a. We compromise truth to retain peace or

b. We focus only on holiness and sacrifice peace. Legalism is the outcome of this scenario.

• The younger converts may become discouraged at legalistic squabbles.

• Forcing issues can cause problems.

C. See that no one losses the grace of God!

1. Gen. 4:9 – Cain says to God, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

2. Vs. 15 answers this question for us.

a. NIV - See that no man misses the grace of God.

b. NKJV - See that no man falls short of the grace of God.

c. KJ – See that no man fails the grace of God.

3. This passage concerns itself with what we do with God’s grace; not what we incorrectly think we do to deserve it. With grace comes responsibility to God and others.

4. William Barclay says the phrase could also be translated, failing to keep up with the grace of God.

a. God’s grace moves past the pain of atoned sins.

b. II Pet. 3:19 - We are told to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. Grace is not stagnant! If we do not grow in grace, it can lose its power in our lives and we’ll see in a minute where this leads us.

5. We need to put others first! In Rom. 9:3, Paul says that he would himself be accursed of Christ if his Jewish brethren would believe.

a. Souls are important and are lost without grace.

b. Our own desires or thoughts (again on matters not concerning salvation) should not push others away from God.

c. Legalism has sent many converts out the back door with the mindset that they could never be good enough.