Sermon Tone Analysis

MBC - 6~/6~/2004 - Pastor Doug Thompson

*/“The Grace of the Gospel”/*

Romans 1:5-7

 

ROM 1:1 Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,

ROM 1:2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures,

ROM 1:3 concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh,

ROM 1:4 who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,

ROM 1:5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles, for His name's sake,

ROM 1:6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;

ROM 1:7 to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

{Talk about what it means vs. how it applies}

 

*I.

God’s grace to Paul.*

 

Ø      ROM 1:5 through whom we have received grace . .

.

For Paul, his life was all about the grace that he had received through the Lord Jesus Christ.

If there is one word that sums up Christianity, it is the word “grace”--one word that sums up our salvation, one word that describes what has happened to us--it is the word /grace/.

It is used 155 times in the NT, and 100 of those occurrences are in Paul’s writings--24 times in Romans.

The Gk. word for grace is /charis/--we turn it into Charissa for a girl’s name.

I want you to have an intellectual understanding what grace means to you and I--but I want you to have an emotional reaction when you hear this word--Grace.

The meaning of this word is so rich--but I want us to get our arms around it--

 

~*What is grace?

*            1.)

Grace is a gift.*

First, grace means “gift.”

A Puritan writer (A.W. Pink?) defined grace this way: “Divine grace is the sovereign and saving favour of God exercised in the bestowment of blessings upon those who have no merit /in/ them and for which no compensation is demanded /from/ them.

Nay, more; it is the favour of God shown to those who not only have no positive deserts of their own, but who are thoroughly ill-deserving and hell-deserving.

It is completely unmerited and unsought, and is altogether unattracted by anything in or from or by the objects upon which it is bestowed.

Grace can neither be bought, earned, nor won by the creature.

If it could be, it would cease to be grace.”

Grace is a gift that flows out of goodness and generosity.

The Corinthian church had taken up an offering for the poor saints in Jerusalem.

Paul called their offering--

 

Ø      1CO 16:3 “your gift”--charis

 

Ø      Spiritual gifts are called /charismata/, because they are freely given by God to every Christian as gifts with which to serve the body of Christ.

Ø      LUK 1:30 The angel told Mary:  "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor [grace--charis] with God.” i.e., “This is a gift, Mary--no woman /deserves/ to be the mother of the Messiah!”

So apply this to our salvation: Eph.2:8: “For by grace you have been saved.”

Salvation by grace means that God is giving us a gift that we didn’t earn, we don’t deserve, and we can never pay for--it is freely given by God just because He wanted to.

It is strictly /His/ prerogative.

This is hard for us to even grasp, but God’s grace in salvation is unconditional--it had nothing to do with us meeting any conditions!

And to knock this into our hard heads, God tells us in EPH 1:4 that the decision to save us and make us His children happened before creation--before we were even here to meet any conditions!

“He chose us in Him /before the foundation of the world/, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.”

So what was the basis of His choice if it wasn’t something in us?

It was something in Him--His own mercy and grace--one of the kids was reading this out of the Living Bible the other night at youth group: “He did it because He wanted to!”

There is an illustration of this in Rom.9.

Paul is explaining that God chose Jacob over Esau before they were even born, so obviously His choice had nothing to do with the boys:

 

Ø      ROM 9:11 for though the twins were not yet born, and had not done anything good or bad, in order that God's purpose according to His choice might stand, not because of works, but because of Him who calls,

 

Jacob was chosen by God on the basis that you and I were chosen--His own free grace.

I was surprised that the word for grace is used as a verb meaning /to forgive/ in several passages--

 

Ø      LUK 7:42 [Jesus is telling a parable] "When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave [charizomai] them both.”

The forgiver represented in this parable is God--When God forgives us, He is gracing us.

He is giving us a gift, isn’t He?

We can’t demand His forgiveness, we can’t earn it, or deserve it--but through Christ, He /graciously /forgives us!

 

Ø      When I used to go out on an evangelistic visitation team, I would use this illustration of grace as a gift: “Suppose I were to take off my watch and offer it to you as a gift.

If you took out your check book to pay me for it--would it still be a gift?”

 

No.

And especially in Paul’s writings we see that he contrasts God’s free grace in salvation with something that people try to pay for or work for.

He says you just can’t mix the two--it’s one or the other:

 

Ø      ROM 11:6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.

? - Let me ask you: “Are you living in the freedom God’s free, undeserved, unearned grace--or are you living under the burden of your own works and efforts, constantly worried that you aren’t doing enough to please God?”

If God has made you His child by a gift of His grace, it /had/ nothing to do with you measuring up or being good enough to get it, and it /has/ nothing to do with you measuring up or being good enough to keep it!

Now let that sink into your mind, and then let it percolate down to your heart:

 

Not because of who I am

But because of what You've done

Not because of what I've done

But because of who You are!

 

Do you sense the freedom in this word--grace--and the security?

If God has graced you, then what Paul said at the end of Rom.8 is true: nothing--nothing--can separate you from the love of God in Christ!

That’s the grace of God.

And there is a way to test yourself--to see if you really understand God’s grace in the gospel, and if you are really communicating that grace when you share the gospel: That great British preacher, Martin Lloyd-Jones said if you are proclaiming the true gospel of grace--if you are getting it right--count on it--people will accuse you of being an antinomian.

And if you never get accused of this, you probably aren’t proclaiming the true gospel of grace.

And you say, “I would /never/ want to be called an antinomian--what is an antinomian?”

 

Antinomian means “without law,” i.e., he was saying that if you present the radical message of God’s free grace in Christ, some people are going to accuse you of saying: “Oh, so you’re saying ‘Sin all you want, you can still go to heaven.’

How dare you say such a thing, we all know that only good people go to heaven!”

And that’s just what Paul was accused of--

 

Ø      ROM 5:20 And the Law came in that the transgression might increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, [And then anticipates what his legalistic opponents are going to say--

Ø      ROM 6:1 What shall we say then?

Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase?

[“I love to sin, God loves to forgive--everybody’s happy?”]

Ø      ROM 6:2 May it never be! [lit., “Don’t even go there!”]

How shall we who died to sin still live in it?

We’ll see later how Paul answers this ridiculous criticism, the point is, even Paul was misunderstood and criticized when he preached the grace of God--and so will you and I if we get it right!

And that’s because God’s grace is /radical/--it is unearthly--it’s not natural.

It goes against the grain of our human nature.

In our pride and our self-sufficiency, we don’t want heaven to be a free gift, that would mean that we wouldn’t be able to take any credit for anything we have done--and besides, it’s humiliating to see ourselves as helpless beggars who are forced to take charity.

But when God gives a person a new heart, and opens up their old, blind eyes, then we sing with old John Newton: “How precious did that grace appear, the hour I first believed!”

*            2.)

Grace means joy.*

I said that the word for grace is /charis/, and that is related to another Gk.

word /chara/, which is the word for joy.

What is the relationship between joy and grace?

Grace comes from joy, and it produces joy! God gives His grace joyfully--it pleases Him to grace people.

Ø      LUK 12:32 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly [it was well-pleasing for Him] to give you the kingdom.”

He doesn’t do it begrudgingly, “Oh alright, (sigh) I’ll forgive your sins and give you eternal life.”

No!

Jesus said that God rejoices when He shows grace to an undeserving sinner.

Lk.15 gives us 3 pictures of God pouring out His grace:

 

Ø      LUK 15:5 [like a shepherd searching for one lost sheep] "And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

[but more than that]

Ø      LUK 15:6 "And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'

Ø      LUK 15:7 "I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

Ø      LUK 15:8 "Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?

Ø      LUK 15:9 "And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!'