But For The Grace Of God Part 1 Series

But For The Grace of God Part 1

Scripture: Prov. 12:2; Eph. 2:8; Gal. 2:20-21; Rom. 5:1-2; I Cor. 6:11

In my message last week titled “But for the Love of God”, I spoke about why understanding the love of God is so important and that when we use the phrase “For the love of God….” in moments of frustration or anger, not only do we minimize the true significance of what the phrase means, but we also disrespect our loving Father and the love He has bestowed upon His children. This morning we will examine another phrase. My initial plan was to follow last week message by focusing on how the grace of God is also used to express frustration and anger just like His love and name is. However, I was having a discussion with my brother and after that discussion I felt led to address grace differently. Over the next three weeks, I want to examine grace from the standpoint of how it is often used to suggest that God shows more love and compassion for some than He does for others. And for me, this is far more disrespectful to God than saying “For the Love of God” in frustration and anger because it’s a belief that God blesses some people while He lets other people suffer. The message title for the next three weeks will be, “But for the Grace of God.”

I cannot tell you the number of times that I have heard well-meaning Christians, when they see someone who is down on their luck or less fortunate than themselves, say “But for the grace of God go I.” What they are saying is that if it wasn’t for God’s grace, they could be just like that unfortunate person. What this tells me is that there is some misunderstanding about grace on the part of the Church and perhaps, some of you listening this morning. Before I go further, I want to ask you a few questions. If there is a storm and your house is spared while your neighbor’s house is badly damaged, was your house spared because God was gracious to you? If you get sick and recover while someone else gets the same illness and dies, is it because God showed grace and favor to you verses the other person? Now let’s make this extremely clear, if you believe, as many do, that God is control of everything, doesn’t that by default means that when something good or bad happens it’s because of His will? And when the outcome is good it’s because He showed grace and when the outcome is bad He withheld it? The answers to these questions are what I will be dealing with this morning and over the next couple of weeks. You see, with the questions I just asked, some people interpret God’s grace as His grace taking care of us in a way that it doesn’t for everyone else. That’s one end of the spectrum. But the other end can carry potentially heavy eternal consequences and that’s when we see God’s grace as a “get out of hell free card.” People who interpret God’s grace in this fashion tend to live their lives however they choose because they believe God’s love and grace covers all of their sinful actions. All they need to do when they sin - when they sin on purpose - is ask God for forgiveness and rely on His wonderful grace. The purpose of this short series is to share with you, through the word of God, what grace does for us and what it does not do for us.

The Encarta dictionary has several definitions for grace. The word is a form of address like addressing a duke or duchess; it also means elegance; politeness; generosity of spirit and what we do when we pray over our meals. But it has only one definition that fits Christianity: “the infinite love, mercy, favor, and goodwill shown to humankind by God.” This is the primary definition that I want you to focus on throughout the message. Grace (or favor) is a positive emotional reaction of admiration and/or approval to some form of relationship. God alone bestows the estimate and consequences of favor and grace upon man. Proverbs 12:2 says, “A good man will obtain favor from the LORD, but He will condemn a man who devises evil.” The word “favor” carries the same meaning as the word “grace.” Grace is uniquely God’s to give. Grace conveys the message of the ultimate defining character of God – that He lovingly and freely gives salvation to to all who ask through Jesus Christ. New Light, we need to understand that God’s grace flows out of His love for people, whether they are saved or not. We need to understand that God is free in giving salvation because He is not obligated, nor constrained by some inner necessity of moral merits of man who have earned it. We cannot earn salvation; it is a loving gift from God through His Son, Jesus Christ, by GRACE!