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The Truth about God’s Grace The
Context The plan of God is to end evil and suffering forever (Exodus 34:6-7; Psalm 34:15-16; Proverbs 1:24-33; Ezekiel 33:11-20; Romans 6:16-23; 8:12-13; 11:11-29; 1 Corinthians 15:24-28; 2 Corinthians 3:16-17; 6:9-11; Galatians 5:16-24; 6:7-8; Hebrews 6:4-9; 10:26-29; 2 Peter 2:9, 20-21; Revelation 21-22). The ultimate purpose of God in all His present dealings with man is to bring him back to the place where he was before the fall (beloved joint participation, in abundance) and free him of all possibility of failing in the future. “The object and purpose of our instruction and charge is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, and a clear conscience, and genuine trust (faith).” —1 Timothy 1:5 God’s “Grace” Defined in
the Old Testament “ax” (Original Old Testament Hebrew): “the free, unmerited favor of God toward the undeserving and the ill-deserving.” Grace is always associated in the Bible with the big-heartedness, love, compassion, mercy, and kindness of one individual to another, whether it be person to person or God to person. God’s “Grace” Defined in
the New Testament God’s New Testament word translated grace is “chairis” (original New Testament Greek). It is defined primarily: “The cheerful, divine influence upon a person’s heart [spirit] and its reflection in the person’s life; including gratitude” In other words, God’s grace (or “chairis”) is no longer “unmerited favor…” but is the power of God’s love transforming the person more and more into the image of Jesus from the inside-out and genuinely yielding the fruit of thankfulness. This is versus the law, affecting only the external life. It is important to note that by the Old Testament’s expression of God’s grace—the free, unmerited favor of God—Jesus Christ never had any. Jesus was perfectly sinless and therefore was most certainly deserving, and the favor of God toward Jesus was most certainly merited. The New Testament states at John 1:14 that Jesus was “full of grace and truth.” John 1:17 states, “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” Galatians 5:4 records the news to those Christians of the Galatian church, “…You have fallen from grace.” God’s grace in the New Covenant (Testament) is not about what we deserve, God’s grace is now about the spiritual Kingdom of God empowering us from within (Luke 17:21; 1 Corinthians 6:19). By definition, God’s grace is
experiential! And repeating, grace is always associated in the Bible with the big-heartedness, love, compassion, mercy, and kindness of one individual to another, whether it be person to person or God to person. This definition certainly doesn’t exhaust the full meaning of God’s grace. But it is an excellent start. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10: “…So to keep me [apostle Paul] from becoming proud, I
was given a thorn in my flesh, an angel from Satan to torment me and keep me
from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away.
Each time He said, ‘My grace is sufficient* for you. My
power works best in weakness.’ So now I am glad to
boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of
Christ can work through me.” *
sufficient; “arkeo” is the original Greek word
translated sufficient here and its definition
includes the idea of raising a barrier;
to ward off. 2
Corinthians 4:7: “We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from
God and not from us.” John 15:5: “I [Jesus] am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in Me, and I in them, bear much fruit; for without Me, you can do nothing.” 2 Corinthians
9:8: “And God is able to make all grace abound
toward you; that you, always having all
sufficiency in all things,
may abound to every
good work.” Understanding
God’s Grace by Faith Most of us are familiar with, “it is by grace that we are saved through faith (Eph. 2:8).” Everything we receive from God must come by grace through faith. Romans 4:16 graciously states, “It depends on faith, in order that it may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his [Abraham’s] offspring — not only to those of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all.” (No faith—no grace; see also Rom. 1:17; 5:2; Hebrews 11:6.) And when you understand grace, you can walk in greater faith. And note that anyone may: - Continue or discontinue in grace (Acts - Grow or not grow in grace (2 Peter - Frustrate it in his or her life (Galatians - Fall from it (Galatians 1:6-8; Galatians
5:4). - Minister it to others (1 Peter - Receive grace in vain (2 Cor. 6:1). - Fail of the grace of God (Hebrews - Turn it into lasciviousness (Jude 1:4). - Sin in spite of it (Romans 6:1). - Receive or reject it (John The Fullness of God’s Grace Superb Audio Teaching If you
would like to be excited about God’s grace while gaining a greater understanding,
be strongly encouraged to enjoy a free audio teaching by Bible teacher and
author, Graham Cooke, entitled “The Fullness of Grace:” Part
1 and Part
2. Depending on what electronic device you’re using, it may stream the
audio, or you may need to download it first then listen. The audio
teaching is free, and is one segment
of a “Permission” series available for a reasonable fee here. The Grace of God in All Ages There was
grace before Jesus Christ came to the Earth, but it was the
"fullness" of grace that came through Him at His coming (John We have
seen in God’s Plan that
each probationary
period (dispensation)
began in the favor of God and ended in the judgment of God because people
lost His favor. Every unsaved soul in all ages is an unanswerable argument
proving a fall from the original grace of God. Millions have never regained
this standing in grace again. Grace provided even in Old Testament times the
means of reconciliation for all, but all did not accept God's grace then any
more than they do today, as far as spiritual things are concerned. As far as
material things are concerned, all peoples of all ages have accepted of God's
blessings through His grace. All these blessings of life are unmerited favors
of God toward man to lead him to repentance (Matt. 5:44-48; That believers in the Old Testament times received the Holy Spirit in their lives by trusting (faith) through grace is clear from Gen. 41:38; Ex. 28:3; 31:3; 35:31; Num. 11:17-29; 14:24; 24:2; 27:18; Deut. 34:9; Judges 3:10; 6:34; 11:29; 14:6, 19; 15:14; 1 Sam. 10:6-10; 11:6; 16:13-23; 18:10; 19:20-23; 2 Sam. 23:2; 2 Kings 2:15; 2 Chron. 15:1; 20:14; 24:20; Ps. 51:10-11; Isa. 11:2; 26:9; 42:1; 61:1-3; 63:10-14; Ezek. 2:2; 3:24; 11:5, 19; 36:27; 37:14; Dan. 4:8-9, 18; 5:11-14; 6:3; Matt. 10:1-21; Luke l:15, 41-46, 67, 70; 2:25-35; Acts 1:16; 3:18-21; 2 Tim. 3:15-17; Heb. 1:1-2; 2 Pet. 1:20-21. The Fullness of Grace and
Power Promised Modern Believers We have
seen above that there are different measures of the Spirit and the power of
God which Old Testament persons experienced. Christ was the first to receive
the Spirit "without measure" (John The Weymouth translation reads, "grace upon grace" and the Moffatt translation "grace after grace" thus plainly showing that all of grace is not necessarily received at once. This is due to the lack of experiential knowledge and trust (faith). According to our experiential knowledge we trust (have faith), and according to our trusting (faith) we receive grace or God’s divine influence upon our heart [spirit] and its reflection in our life; including gratitude, in every stage of our growth. There is no limitation to the grace of God or what we can receive from God through grace (2 Cor. 9:8). The benefits of grace do not all come to all alike or all at once. If all persons received the same fullness of grace alike, then all would have the same benefits from God alike. The fact that some receive more benefits than others proves that they come by trusting (faith) and according to the trust (faith) of each person. Trust (faith) governs the benefits of grace and trust (faith) in turn is based upon experiential knowledge. We are promised today "the fullness of God" and the same power to do the same works that Jesus did (John 14:12-15; John 7:37-39; Acts 1:8; Eph. 3:16-20). Since there are varying degrees of power and trust (faith) in different believers it proves there are also varying degrees of grace received from God. Greater Understanding in an Audio Format For greater understanding of God’s grace in
an audio format, click
here False Theories about Grace It is true that from God's standpoint grace cannot be withheld from humankind because of demerit, it cannot be lessened by demerit, and it cannot be mixed with the law of works, but this does not do away with the fact that there are conditions to meet on the part of us if we want to access certain benefits of grace. Not one statement in the whole Bible says that there is an unconditional grace of God to us, or that there is a grace from God which we can get if we live as we please in disregard of the laws (principles of how God works) and justice of God. When we say that grace is not withheld because of demerit we simply mean that God's grace will cause Him to forgive all sin when certain conditions are met. When we say that grace is not lessened by demerit we simply mean that sin does not do away with or decrease the grace of God toward a sinner when we meet certain conditions according to the Word of God. When we say it cannot be mixed with the law of works we simply mean that no work of man can merit God's blessings that come only by trusting (faith) through grace and by meeting the plain conditions laid down for a sinner to meet in order to access these blessings. When we realize that we are a sinner; that God's grace is greater than our sins; that we have no merits of our own to earn favor—power from—God; and that if we come to God meeting the requirements of reconciliation we become immediately recipients of God's grace. If God withheld His grace from a penitent sinner because one was a sinner then no person could be saved. If sin lessened the grace of God to a penitent sinner then no person could be blessed, for sin would be greater than grace, and sin would not permit grace to be manifest. If blessings were earned by works, then they would not come by grace. It is also true that God is not under obligation to save sinners because of some human merit, but it is true that God of His own accord and because of grace obligated Himself to pay the debt of sin for mankind. Since God has accepted of His own free choice the undertaking of paying man's debt, He is now under obligation to us to give each one the same freedom of choice in accepting the cancellation of the debt. God is under obligation now to save all of us who do accept the work of Christ for us. God cannot in any one case refuse to manifest His grace to any sinner that accepts the work of Christ for him or her. God is not under obligation to bless any one sinner who refuses and rejects the offer of God and the work of Christ on the cross. The choice is now left up to each of us and not to the further choice of God. God's choice has already been made, and His work in the paying of man's debt is finished, and He is obligated to give to all who accept the full benefits for which Christ died. Naturally we are saved by grace, but not without the free and voluntary choice of acceptance of the work of Christ and proper confession of sins to God and trust (faith) in the blood of Christ. All the grace of God in existence could not save one soul if that soul refused the merits of that grace. Thus in the final analysis we ourselves govern our personal salvation by our power of free choice. Salvation is naturally the work of God for humankind, but God cannot save us without our free consent and participation with God from the new birth to the grave. So the idea that our salvation depends only on the grace of God and on grace alone, and that it is the work of God only and the work of God alone, is false. We are truly free moral agents. If all depended only and alone upon God to save all sinners and they had nothing to do to get saved, then all would be saved alike by God, for the salvation of all persons is His desire (1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9). If it were left up to God alone, then He would be under moral obligation to save all regardless of their consent or He would be a respecter of persons and a breaker of His own law (James 2:1, 9). It is true that grace—God’s power becoming our power—is pure kindness and unmerited favor from God. And, since God voluntarily chose to pay humankind’s debt and save him from Hell on the grounds that humankind should accept this work for him, God is now fulfilling an obligation to humankind, which is an obligation of His own free choice, not one that humankind has merited. In other words, our works or human merits did not earn for us the obligation on the part of God to save us. This obligation is a voluntary one on the part of God for helpless humankind. This is why God's grace is real, unmerited favor—God’s divine influence upon our heart and its reflection in our life—and love toward us. It is this human element in the working of grace that some of us fail to recognize. This is unfortunate. We seem to magnify grace as the only thing that is capable of saving us and contends that we can do nothing to access the benefits of grace. We ignore our free moral agency, our responsibility in our own damnation should we be lost; and it ignores repentance, confession of sins, prayer, the giving up of sin on the part of a Christian, or anything that God has required of us to be saved. We ignore the human element after one is saved and brushes aside all the conditions of continued salvation plainly laid down in Scripture that we must meet in order to be saved in the end. It lays all blame and responsibility upon God should we fail to do what God requires of us to be eternally saved. It makes God personally accountable for the loss of every soul should we be finally lost after we have believed. This school holds to some of the most goofy and unscriptural theories about God, grace, and salvation of any that claims any degree of faith in the gospel of Christ. When we
argue that grace is pure kindness, not the fulfilling of an obligation; that
it is God's kindness to sinners whether they sin less or more; that it is
wholly unrelated to human merit; that it is not the treating of us as we
deserve, nor treating us better than we deserve; that it is treating us
graciously without the slightest reference to our refusal; that it is never
decreased or increased from the standpoint of God; and that it offers a
standardized, unvarying blessing to all alike; its
arguments are partly true, but this one thing has been overlooked
by some of us, and that is that the manifestation of the grace from God is
governed by our free moral agency on the part of each one of us. That is, God
is limited to what He can and will do for any individual by grace by the
will, faith, and obedience of each prospective recipient of grace (e.g.
Matthew To teach that God does not forgive a sinner because He is big-hearted enough to remit the penalty, or that God does not have mercy on a sinner, but that He saves solely because of grace, is to demonstrate ignorance of the gospel and of what grace is. The fact that God has already "taken away" the sin of the world on the cross and that Christ is our substitute and has already borne the righteous judgments of God against sin does not prove that God is unmerciful, or that he is not big-hearted or that grace is something separate and apart from the redemptive work of Christ and God. The truth is that God manifests grace to us who do not merit it and cannot merit it. It is also true that God is love. He is big-hearted. He is merciful and He is kind and compassionate to those who have gone astray from His family. Noah
found grace in the sight of God because he was righteous, and God favored him
because of this (Gen. 6:8; 7:1). God had mercy on him and his family. If Noah
had not been righteous God would not have had mercy on him. He would have
destroyed him and his house with the rest of the ungodly. This cannot be
disputed if we believe the record. When It is
senseless to talk about being forgiven of sin or being saved without this
salvation being an act of grace and mercy. Everything that God does for us is
an act of grace and mercy. The fact that God has already paid the debt for
humankind does not mean that actual forgiveness of sins today is not an
immediate act of His grace. No sinner is saved personally until s/he accepts
the work of Christ, and since sinners have to do
this in their own lives today, then the grace of God manifests itself today
only when one accepts Christ as a personal Savior, by faith. This does not
mean that God becomes good enough to excuse sins apart from the work of
Christ. It is that God becomes personally gracious to each sinner the moment
s/he accepts the work of Christ for him or her. The work of Christ was done
2,000-years ago, but it does not benefit the individual until s/he chooses to
accept it. God blesses by His grace the sinner when s/he surrenders, and this
cannot be done in one’s life until s/he turns to God and permits the grace of
God to be manifest to him or her. No sinner will ever receive the grace of
God until s/he personally humbles him or herself and calls upon God for
mercy. God is free to forgive at the moment we confess because Christ has
already paid the debt for us. It is only when we know the truth and accept it
that we are set free (Job 33:23-24; John The
gospel of redemption is called "the word of His grace" (Acts 14:3; Further
proof that grace is governed in the individual life by the will power and
life of each person is clear from the fact that a person can receive the
grace of God in vain (2 Cor. 6:1). We can frustrate grace in our life (Gal. It may appear to some that we are making mankind's will greater than the grace of God. But we answer that this is true not only of grace but of many other attributes of God that cannot possibly bless rebels when they choose not to accept of these blessings. It is not so much that mankind's will is greater than any attribute of God, but that God cannot do, and He has promised not to do certain things for people until they accept of His grace and freely chooses and submits to the work of God in them. God simply cannot and will not break His own love-laws and be a dictator of any person. He will not force any free moral agent to conform to His will. Therefore it is up to free moral agents to choose whether they want God's grace, love, or favor and to what extent. If it were left wholly up to God's will in the matter, then all free moral agents would conform to His will, and all would be blessed alike, and all would enjoy the grace and favor of God to the full. As it is now, no one can accuse God of not having outrageous love for all people if they want to become recipients of that love. The fact that all are not saved and even all the saved do not partake of God's love to the same extent proves that God's blessings according to His grace are not wholly dependent upon Him. Neither are they wholly dependent upon the free will of a person. It takes both the will of God and the will of a person in full co-operation to demonstrate the fullness of God's love and grace. We cannot work for the good of one master when we are serving the other. Thus God's grace or love is naturally limited by the free moral agency of people. To argue
that forgiveness is not an act of grace is to contradict the many Scriptures
cited above that say we are justified, and we receive salvation by grace. To
separate grace and the mercy of God in forgiveness is also unscriptural, for
God cannot be gracious to anyone to whom He shows no mercy. Mercy and
forgiveness of sins go hand in hand (Deut. 5:9-10; Neh. 9:17; Ps. 26:11; Luke
18:13-14). Scores of times in Scripture persons have asked for mercy when
asking forgiveness and blessing (Ps. 51:1-13; Prov. 16:6; etc.). God is by
nature gracious, merciful, loving kind, good, and compassionate (Ex. 34:6;
Neh. Four Secrets
of Continued Grace 1. Live
and walk in the Spirit (Gal. 5:5, 16-26; 2. Be
patient in hope (Gal. 5:5; Rom. 3. Continue
in Christ (Gal. 5:6; John 15:1-8; Col. 2:6-7; Heb. 4. Continue in trusting (faith)
(Gal. 5:6; Col. 1:23). Why would Paul’s labor be
in vain (1 Thessalonians 3:5) if there was no possibility of Satan tempting
Christians, causing them to fall and be lost? Surely Paul
understood the grace of God and its limitations to those who refuse to yield
to the gospel, for he used the word 110 of the 156 times the Greek: charis
(grace) is found in the New Testament. Thirty Things that Grace
Can Do: 1. Grace
can save the world (Genesis 6:8; Ephes. 2:8-9). 2. Grace
can give one all good things (Psalm 84:11). 3. Grace
can bring people to repentance (Zech. 4. Grace
can impart great blessings (Acts 5. Grace
can bring salvation (Titus 6. Grace
can impart faith (Acts 7. Grace
can justify (Romans 8. Grace
can overcome sin (Romans 9. Grace
can reign in life if permitted (Romans 10. Grace
can make each of us “God's elect” (Romans 11:5-6). 11. Grace
can give boldness (Romans 12. Grace
can make partaker of Christ (1 Cor. 13. Grace
can give power (1 Cor. 14. Grace
can inspire liberality (2 Cor. 8:1-2,6-9; 2 Cor. 9:8). 15. Grace
can give endurance (2 Cor. 12:9). 16. Grace
can call people to the ministry (Galatians 17. Grace
can impart riches (Ephes. 2:7). 18. Grace
can inspire singing (Col. 3:16). 19. Grace
can give seasoning to speech (Col. 4:6). 20. Grace
can give strength (2 Tim. 2:1). 21. Grace
can teach (Titus 22. Grace
can give aid in suffering (Hebrews 2:9). 23. Grace
can help in time of need (Hebrews 24. Grace
can give stability (Hebrews 13:9). 25. Grace
can give life (1 Peter 3:7). 26. Grace
can help render true service (Hebrews 27. Grace
can become abundant (1 Tim. 28. Grace
can bring hope (2 Thess. 29. Grace
can give the ability to preach (Ephes. 3:8). 30. Grace
can change lives (1 Cor. Thirty Things that Grace Cannot Do: 1. Set
aside forever all condemnation for future sins—shortcomings continued (John 2. Set
aside failure of saved people to meet the conditions of salvation (1 John
1:7; Romans 6:1-23; 8:1-13; James 5:19-20; Galatians 5:19-21; Col. 1:23; Col.
2:6-7) 3. Cancel
free moral agency (Col. 1:23; 1 John 1:7; Romans 4. Keep
people saved when they sin—shortcoming continued (Romans 8:12-13; 1 Cor.
6:9-11; Galatians 5:19-21; 6:7-8; James 5:19-20; Hebrews 6:4-6; 10:26-29; 2
Peter 2:20-21) 5. Cancel
the death penalty when saved people continue to break the law (Romans
6:16-23; 8:12-13; Hebrews 10:26-29; James 5:19-20; Ezekiel 18:4,20-24;
33:12-13,18) 6. Make
God a liar who said every person who sins must die (Ezekiel 18:4; Romans
6:16-23; 8:12-13; Galatians 5:19-21; 6:7-8; 1 Cor. 6:9-11; Rev. 21:8) 7. Cancel
the law of confession of sins—shortcomings continued—before they are forgiven
(1 John 1:7,9; Rev. 2:5,16; Rev. 3:19; Luke 13:1-5; Acts 2:38) 8. Forgive
future sins, for transgression and confession are necessary before
forgiveness (1 John 1:9; Rev. 2:5,16,22; 3:19; Luke 13:1-5; Acts 2:38; Mark
6:12; Rom. 2:4-6; 2 Cor. 7:10) 9. Cancel
responsibility of saved people concerning sin—shortcomings continued (Romans 10. Be
responsible should saved people backslide (1 Tim.
2:4; 2 Peter 3:9; Rev. 2:5; 3:2; James 5:19-20; Galatians 5:19-21) 11. Free
saved people from condemnation for future sins—shortcomings continued—unless
confessed (1 John 1:7,9; Rev. 2:5,22; 3:2; James 12. Permit
God to forgive unconfessed sin—shortcoming continued (2 Chron. 13. Bind
people so that they cannot sin—shortcomings continued—if they choose to do so
(Romans 6:16-23; 8:1-13; 1 John 1:7; Hebrews 6:4-9; 10:26-29) 14. Guarantee
any person eternal life if s/he refuses to obey (James 15. Force
obedience (Rev. 22:17; John 3:16-20; Romans 6:16-23; 8:1-13; Galatians 1:6-8;
5:4; 6:7-8; 1 John 1:7) 16. Make
any person a child of God in the sense Jesus was (John 17. Force
God to continue blessing any person who sins—shortcoming continued (Ezekiel
18:4; Romans 6:16-23; 8:1-13; Galatians 5:19-21; James 5:19-20) 18. Make
the sins—shortcomings continued—of the saved different from the sins of the
unsaved (Romans 6:16-23; 8:12-13; 2 Cor. 6:9-11; Galatians 5:19-21; Col.
1:5-10; 2 Peter 2:20-22) 19. Condemn
sinners and excuse believers who commit the same sins—shortcomings continued
(Romans 6:16-23; 8:12-13; 14:10-12; Galatians 5:19-21; 6:7-8; Ezekiel
18:4,24-28; 33:12-16; Rev. 2:5,16,22; 3:2) 20. Operate
in the life of a free moral agent without his or her consent (John 3:16-20;
7:17; John 8:34; 2 Peter 3:9; Rev. 22:17) 21. Impart
eternal life to people who serve sin and Satan (Matthew 22. Keep
people from moral falls if they willfully sin—shortcoming continued (Romans
6:16-23; 8:1-13; Hebrews 6:4-9; 10:26-29; Ezekiel 33:12-20) 23. Force
God to go contrary to His own program of grace (Romans 1:16; 1 John 1:7;
Hebrews 3:6,12-14; 10:26-29) 24. Cancel
the law of sowing and reaping (Galatians 6:7-8; Romans 6:16-23; 8:12-13;
Ezekiel 18:4,24-28; 33:12-16; Rev. 2:5-22) 25. Guarantee
unconditional favor to anyone (2 Cor. 6:1; Galatians 1:6-8; 26. Guarantee
unforfeitable life without conditions being met
(Romans 6:16-23; 8:12-13; Galatians 5:19-21; 6:7-8; James 5:19-20; Hebrews
10:26-29) 27. Guarantee
sinlessness to people unless conditions are met (1 Cor. 3:16-17; Romans
6:16-23; 8:12-13; Galatians 5:16-26; 6:7-8; Hebrews 6:1-9; 10:26-29;
12:14-15) 28. Encourage
anarchy in God's government (Genesis 29. Force
God to be lenient with rebels (Ezekiel 18:4; Romans 6:23; 8:12-13; Galatians
6:7-8) 30. Give
any person a pardon that guarantees them salvation and eternal life
regardless of how s/he lives in sin and rebellion (Exodus 32:32-33; Ezekiel
18:4; 33:10-20; Romans 6:16-23; 8:12-13; Galatians 5:19-21; 6:7-8) “Beloved, I wish above all
things that you may prosper and be in health, even as
your soul prospers.” –
3 John 2 Thank
you Finis
Jennings Dake and Dake
Publishing! Thank
you Derek Prince and
his book Blessing
or Curse...! |
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