Grace

SCRIPTURE PASSAGE

Ephesians 2:4–10 (NLT)

4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. 8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Focus Statement

Grace is a gift from God given freely to all people,

and because of this gift we are saved.

This grace is the spark that makes the Methodist fire burn,

the starting point and an essential root of our theology.

Point of Relation

I have been a recipient of grace in so many different ways by so many different people…

all of whom showed me the power of God’s grace working through others…whether they realized that was what it was or not.

First, my parents and sister. My God, if there were three people who could have given up on me for good reason…it’s them.

Sure, parents don’t typically do that…but I gave them all a run for their money…

Speaking of which, the police department in my hometown when I was 16-17 years old.

My life could be very different if they had NOT shown me grace…

because they saw a GOOD KID in me.

PRAISE GOD, because I did not see the same kid they did.

I have received so much undeserved grace in my life…that I can stand here and tell you today that God’s grace is the ONLY reason I am alive today, let alone standing here to tell you about it…

Things to Consider

Where has grace played a part in your life, recently or otherwise.

For instance, perhaps some one in line in front of you paid for your drink

Or perhaps someone let you get in line ahead of them.

Or perhaps someone treated you nicely despite you being curt with them…

or Perhaps God spoke an affirming message of love to you through a movie you saw, a song you heard, a person you spoke to or some other ordinary way.

The possibilities are endless so let me ask you again…

Where has grace played a part in your life lately?

Pause

Maybe you showed some to others.

What Scripture Says

In Methodism, we have three distinct ways of understanding God’s grace.

Now, I want you to first understand that there are not THREE DiFFERENT TYPES OF GRACE, each different from each other.

No…not at all…

Rather, Grace, as a whole, is seen through the lenses of God’s purpose for extending it as well as when God extends it.

So, Grace, my friends, is GRACE…

But as Methodists we see in that Grace…three modalities of Grace.

Prevenient, or preventing, Grace

Justifying Grace

And Sanctifying Grace

Let us look at each of these modes of grace so that we can understand exactly how God’s grace works in and through us, God’s children.

First, there’s Prevenient grace

Which is described in verses 4-5.

But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead.

What does this mean?

Let me sum this up for you:

Up until Jesus Christ, ALL HUMANITY was dead in its sins…

The result: SHEOL…the pit…DEATH.

Humanity was stuck in the cycle of life and death…with death being the END…all souls lying in a state of limbo (if you will)…separated from God…

That is why God sent Jesus Christ who, through his sacrifice and death on the cross atoned for the sins of humanity…

and through Christ’s resurrection restored our LIFE again…

So, how does prevenient grace play into this?

How do we receive Christ if we do not know about him? And how do we choose Christ if we are stuck choosing death?

Prevenient or Preventing Grace is the grace God set forth at outset of Creation…

where everything points to our Creator…

and God made God’s presence clear because God loves us and wants us to find and choose God.

Meaning that Preventing Grace keeps us from NOT KNOWING GOD and NOT BEING ABLE TO CHOOSE GOD.

God’s prevenient or “preceding” grace is far-reaching and wooing.

It is the grace that empowers us to move in a God-ward direction.

It is the grace that leads us to JESUS CHRIST.

Think about yourselves right now. How did you get here? By yourselves? Not likely?

At the very least, you had a desire in you?

Who put that there? Did you? Or was it just there?

More than likely most of you were brought because of your parents or a friends.

Whatever the case is, you found JESUS because God wanted you to and gave you that ability.

PREVENTING/PREVENIENT GRACE…and it is in EVERYONE’S LIFE…

SECOND: Justifying grace is described in verses 6-9.

Let’s read that again:

6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. 8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

One visual for justifying grace is that of a typewriter or computer

that aligns, or “justifies,”

you with the margins and sets you on the right track.

This grace is the critical Methodist turn.

Having experienced prevenient grace,

we turn to Jesus Christ and receive justification by the grace of God through Jesus Christ,

and are brought into right relationship with God.

This grace helps us trust in what God has done for us in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus,

It helps us say yes, surrender to God, and commit to living by the power of God’s love for us.

Chuck Yrigoyen puts it this way:

“Justification considers how unrighteous people stand before the righteous God.”

Finally, Sanctifying grace is described in verse 10,

10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

where we live out our lives in right relationship with God

(as we were created to be) in a life filled with doing good works.

As we talked about last week with respect to baptism,

with grace, too, there is both divine initiative and human response.

The response to God’s justifying grace is a life of holiness.

Through sanctifying grace,

we grow in holiness as we are going onto perfection, being made perfect in love.

And by perfection, I do not mean we will do nothing wrong or NEVER MAKE MISTAKES. Who ever defined THAT as perfect anyway?

No, by perefect we mean not perfectionism…

But being perfected in God’s love and grace…

Allowing God’s grace to craft us perfectly into who God created us to be…

to make is right with God…

In other words, PERFECTED in the sense of being molded….

as a potter perfects his or her pottery.

But this, too, is grace!

We are only able to keep living in right relationship with God, doing good works, and growing in holiness

as God gives us the grace to do so.

As Jim Harnish puts it, the love of God helps us fully center our relationship with God in all that we do.

Finally, let us think of Grace as a soil that makes everything grow.

Grace is like entering a house through the porch (prevenient grace),

the door (justifying grace)

and finally being inside the house (sanctifying grace).

What This Means for You

God continues to work on our hearts.

When we experience God’s grace,

we cannot help but respond.

Let me ask you this, where are you in experiencing God’s grace?

Pause

Take time this week and consider which of the three types of grace resonates where you are?

Remember that Grace provides us the opportunity to realign ourselves with Jesus.

Considering the grace we experience in our lives is a great and positive activity for us as Christians;

however, we need to be careful to avoid ranking people based on which kind of grace they are currently experiencing.

I WANT TO REMIND YOU that faith is a dynamic journey dependent on God’s grace no matter where on that journey you are.

FOR 10:30 SERVICE

In fact, in preparation for this week’s reflections, let us turn to hymn #607 and recite together the Wesleyan Covenant Prayer.

What This Means for Us

Friends, God’s grace restores us as individuals, and it is God’s plan to restore the world.

Where is at least one place we create barriers to others experiencing grace within the church and community?

With that question asked, what is one action the church can take to offer God’s grace in the community and beyond?”

Who are the ones in need of grace?

They may be people, or segments of our population, who are underserved, ignored, forgotten.

It may be the people who have been resisting positive and sustainable change in our community.

How do we show God’s grace to anyone who needs it. Different needs will require different prayers, words, actions.

We, as the body of Christ here in Newton, can abe attuned to the areas God is calling us to share his grace.

Amen?

Then let us begin to open our hearts and our EYES to the needs for Grace around us. Amen.

Additional Material:

Chuck knows Church on Grace (#67):htps://youtu.be/DnP0UHYvw20?si=p9N58KPViVADJM7n