What is Grace?
Jude • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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It was Dietrich Bonhoeffer a German Lutheran pastor and Nazi resister. Who was hanged in 1945 by SS guards who made this statement, “Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our Church. We are fighting today for costly grace.”
These ungodly apostate teachers had turned the grace of God into cheap grace. Grace with no strings attached, grace that allowed for more wiggle room in the Christian’s life. It is grace with the moral/spiritual obligations of every Christian shaved off the top.
It’s against this backdrop, like Bonhoeffer, where Jude sounds the battle cry to “earnestly contend for the faith,” “We are fighting for costly grace!”
How do fight if you don’t know or understand what you are fighting for?
Objective: To make a clear biblical case for grace by simply highlighting/elevating the Biblical concept of Grace to a level where cheap grace is cheapen compared to costly grace.
What is Grace?
“Grace signifies that favor with which God receives us, forgiving our sins and justifying us freely through Christ.” – Martin Luther.
Objective relation of undeserved favor by a superior to an inferior, it carries the idea of covenant and election.
Grace to the sinner results in a transformed life through an effectual calling producing faith and repentance, John 6:44.
Grace is the free and benevolent influence of a holy God operating sovereignly in the lives of undeserving sinners.
The framework for understanding the doctrine of grace is simply that eternal life is promised upon the condition of perfect and personal obedience.
God promised eternal life on the condition of perfect obedience.
God’s law is a system of rules that reflect God’s character; holy and good.
Romans 7:12 “12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.”
God promised Adam and his posterity eternal life upon the condition of perfect obedience.
Genesis 2:15-17 “15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.””
After the Mosaic law was given, the same condition applied.
Leviticus 18:5 “5 You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.”
This same principle carried over to the New Testament.
Matthew 5:20 “20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:48 “48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Luke 10:25-28 “25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.””
Matthew 19:16-21 “16 And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” 17 And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.””
Romans 2:13 “13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.”
The principle is simple, do the right thing, and you will gain eternal life.
Before the Good News of the Gospel can make an eternal impact, a person much come to terms and be confronted with the Bad News; we cannot do this.
It is impossible to perfectly obey God’s command; poses a big problem.
Adam lived in a perfect environment, enjoy close intimate fellowship with God, he was given clearly defined commandments (Law) and still disobeyed, Genesis 3.
Adam transgressed God’s Law, and Eve transgressed God’s law, 1 Timothy 2:14.
1 Timothy 2:14 “14 and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.”
Adam’s sin is credited or imputed to all his posterity (All Humanity).
Romans 5:12-14 “12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.”
Adam did not act alone he is the covenantal federal head or representative of all humanity – Covenant of Work, Romans 5:12.
God chose Adam to represent all humanity, even though we were not there when Adam sinned, we still get charged with his sin.
Adam and Moses both had clearly defined commandments or Laws, in both cases the consequences of disobedience was death, Romans 5:13.
The Adam-Moses gap died even though they did not transgress expressly revealed commands of God like Adam did, Romans 5:14.
They suffered the consequences of violating the law—namely, death—then God must somehow credit Adam’s first sin to all people.
God punishes all people for disobeying His law, even though they did not do so personally. God imputes Adam guilt to all humanity.
Romans 3:23 “23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
The law provides no method of restoration, there is no hope, and every person is now under the condemnation of sin.
Romans 6:23 “23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
John 3:18 “18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”
John 3:36 “36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”
It is impossible to fulfill the requirement of God for perfect obedience to His Law.
Romans 3:20 “20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.”
Galatians 2:16 “16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.”
The crisis point, the point of desperation is this, we need someone to do this for us!
The paradigm of Law/Grace — Jesus.
The sobering reality of our inability to perfectly obey God’s requirement should…the fact that I cannot do this!
Lead me to look outside myself, church, good works.
Drive me to Jesus, Galatians 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Look what God has done for us.
Romans 8:1-4 “1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
The emphasis of Romans 8:1-4 is what we cannot do, and what God has done for us.
Active obedience – Jesus came to do what humanity could not do – perfectly obey the law.
Matthew 5:17-18 “17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”
Passive obedience – Christ suffers the penalty of our disobedience to the Law.
God can now say that a human has perfectly obeyed the law, and therefore declares the sinner righteous.
Christ’s law-keeping is our obedience, and hence the law is “fulfilled in us,” in humankind, through Christ’s incarnation as a man.
The effects of grace on the believing sinner, Romans 5:15-19.
Romans 5:15-19 “15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. 16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. 17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. 18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.”
Both Adam’s and Jesus’ action affected humanity. The action of the “One Man” Adam affected many, likewise, the action of the “One Man” Jesus affected those who are in Him.
Note the legal dimensions of both Adam and Christ, Romans 5:16, Adam’s transgression brings condemnation, but Christ’s obedience brings justification over all sins.
Grace and the gift of righteousness overpower sin and death, Romans 5:17, 20
Death entered the world by one man’s sin, but through the righteous act of One-Man justification is provided, Romans 5:18.
Romans 5:19 Appointed righteous by One Man’s obedience.
Grace Justifies and imputes the righteousness of Christ, Romans 5:1-2.
Romans 5:1-2 “1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
Justification is both a benefits of the death of Christ, and cardinal doctrine of Christianity it distinguishes it as a religion of grace and faith; grace and faith are the cornerstones of the doctrine of justification.
To justify means to declare righteous, to announce or pronounce a favorable verdict, to declare righteous.
Justification does not make a person righteous, but gives the verdict of righteous.
God changes sinners into righteous people.
By making us the righteousness of God in Christ, by making many righteous, by giving believers the gift of righteousness,
2 Corinthians 5:21 “21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Romans 5:17 “17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.”
Romans 5:19 “19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.”
Justification centers in Jesus Christ.
Justification comes by way of faith in Jesus Christ, Romans 5:1; 3:25, 28.
The price for justification is Christ dying for the sinner, Romans 3:24-25. (John 15:25 “without a cause” in us, only by grace).
Romans 3:24-25 “24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.”
Faith in Christ, positionally places us “In Christ,” this is what makes us righteous.
This righteousness alone overcomes our desperate, sinful condition and measures up to all the demands of God’s holiness.
The sinner who believers receives imputed righteousness, Philippians 3:8-10.
Philippians 3:8-10 “8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,”
Imputed righteousness is the whole foundation as our standing as Christians.
Standing before God we are hopeless sinners, and utterly condemned.
It is not a matter of trying to better, or doing the right thing; you cannot do it!
If you forsook the whole world, gave everything up, went into total seclusion, it would still not be enough.
God does not want your goodness, God wants perfect obedience; this is the standard!
Matthew 22:37-39 “37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
What can a person do? Absolutely nothing. Here is the message of grace/gospel.
Righteousness by faith.
God sent Jesus into the world that He might give His righteousness.
Here is what grace is…Justification by faith!
Here is what grace is…Justification by faith!
Jesus came and lived a perfect life, rendering perfect obedience to God’s holy law, Matthew 5:17-18. Then Jesus made Himself responsible for my sin, he bore the punishment of my sin on the cross. But then God raised him from the dead, Romans 4:22-25, satisfying God’s wrath, and that Jesus is enough!
Romans 4:22-25 “22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” 23 But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.”
Isaiah 53:6 “6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
God imputed our sins to Christ’s account, but this is not enough. What about my standing before a holy, just, perfect, and righteous God? What about my position before a God of light? I must be holy, righteous, perfect, and light, anything else cannot stand in His presence.
By faith alone, I believe Christ has live a perfect life, and died for my sins, so God takes Christ’s perfect life, perfect obedience, perfect righteousness, and puts that to my account.
I didn’t keep the law, Jesus did. I did not render perfect obedience, Jesus did. I did not die for my sin, Jesus did. God puts that to my account. God clothes me in righteousness, God doesn’t see me but the righteousness of Christ.
Christ righteousness counted to me. Put on me by the God whom I offended and sinned against. God pronounces me a just man, forgiven, and righteous, a holy man. The law cannot condemn me, Romans 8:1, I have fully and completely obeyed it in Christ positionally.
Romans 8:1 “1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”