Habits of Grace

Introduction

Christianity has a lot of buzz words that many do not fully understand. Some of those words are words like faith, sanctification, justification, glory, and grace. So I went through did a bible study on the word grace. We saw that grace is God’s favor towards us. It is also something freely given by God; it is help from God and enablement by God. Two weeks ago, I combined those elements and defined grace as: Grace is the favorable disposition of God that moves him to freely give and act on our behalf. Grace is God’s provision of Himself in our life.

Most importantly grace is found in a person. Grace is God entering into our lives at every point where we have need because of His love for us.

We often think of grace when we think of salvation, but grace is not limited to our salvation experience. We need grace for all areas of our life. If you haven’t been attending Sunday night services our main theme has been walking with God. But the message two weeks ago and this message are foundational to everything else we are going to deal with. Waling with God can become legalistic without a proper understanding of God’s grace.

So much of Christianity is lived by sheer determination or ritual and we miss out on the vitality of the Christian faith. Today’s message will continue to be a topical message, but I want to show you today why we need God’s grace even now, how we get more grace, what is the purpose of receiving grace, and what practical things has God provided to put us in a position to receive grace.

We need grace for?

to be what God wants us to be 1 Cor 15:10 “But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” I want to be a Christ-like Christian, but how does someone love like Jesus did when their house has been burned down by muslims. How does a man become patient with all the irritations of life? How does he step outside himself and give sacrificially for others? How does he stop being an angry man? Those fruits of the Spirit, how do we get those? The answer is God’s grace. I cannot be anything that God wants me to be without God producing that fruit in my life. I can try hard but I will fail without God. Grace is essential to be who I ought to be.

to live the way God wants us to live 2 Cor 1:12 “For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward.”

to have more love, boldness to speak, knowledge, faith and a giving heart 2 Cor 8:7 “Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also.”

to serve Romans 12:6 “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;” Heb 12:28 “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:” By default, human beings are selfishness. The idolatry of self is the root of all the other sins we struggle with. How does a person set aside self and become consumed with serving others? God’ grace.

to teach us what is wrong and what is right Titus 2:11-12 “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;” I believe Jesus Christ is the grace of God that appeared to all men here in this passage. Jesus came and reveals to us that we are sinners. He came to offer us his own righteousness in salvation and he came to teach his followers what it looks like to follow him.

to help in time of need Heb 4:16 “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Sometimes there are circumstances that we cannot change, we need God’s grace to help in those moments.

to find comfort and hope 2 Thess 2:16-17 “Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.” People have a hard time offering true hope and comfort because many times we haven’t been through the circumstances that you are going through, but God knows. He knows not just factually, but experientially. “He was tempted in all points like as we are.”

How do we get more grace?

Last week we talked about grace: what it is and what it does.

The first truth we need to see tonight is that we can get more grace James 4:6 “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”

We can grow in grace 2 Peter 3:18 “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.”

John 1:16 “And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.” The meaning of this seemingly pointless phrase is that through Jesus we have heaped on us layer after layer of more grace.

If we can get more grace, then we probably want to know how. This is going to be the topic of our discussion for much of the year to come. We need grace to be saved, we need grace to suffer well, we need grace to become more like Christ, we need grace to serve Jesus better. Grace is essential to our Christian walk because without a vital connection and provision from Jesus Christ, I cannot become what He wants me to become. (relate to abiding in the vine)

Our gracious Lord is not playing ‘catch me if you can’ with us,” writes Ray Ortlund. “He has made Himself knowable and accessible in specific ways of His own wise choosing. His appointed avenues of blessing are the means of grace.

How do I, as a believer, access the grace of the Lord for my many needs? Where do I go, what do I do, to connect with the real help He gives to sinners and sufferers here in this world?- Ray Ortlund

The answer is I need to find more grace.

1. Grace is not passive. What I mean by this is it is not automatically given against my will. Think of salvation as an illustration of this truth. Eph 2:8 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:” asserts that salvation is given by grace. But is everyone saved? Grace is made available to those who turn from their sins and place their faith in Jesus Christ. So grace is not automatic. Much of the Christian life is a partnership as we work alongside God in becoming what he wants us to become and doing what God wants us to do. Col 1:29 “Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.” Phil 2:12-13 “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”

2. Grace is not something you earn- Romans 11:6 “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.” I cannot twist God’s arm and make Him give me more grace. God is not under any obligation outside of Himself to give grace.

So how do I reconcile these two truths? Habits of Grace or spiritual disciplines place us into a position of receiving grace through communion with God. There are pathways, avenues to place yourself where you are in communion with God and able to receive His grace freely given.

The means of grace are not about earning God’s favor, twisting his arm, or controlling his blessing, but readying ourselves for consistent saturation in the roll of his tides- David Mathis

Endeavor to promote spiritual appetites by laying yourself in the way of allurement, -Jonathan Edwards

Think of the Spiritual Disciplines as ways we can place ourselves in the path of God’s grace and seek him as Batimaeus and Zaccaeus placed themselves in Jesus’ path and sought him. -Whitney

Let’s look at some specific passages that teach that there are means of receiving more grace in our lives:

1. 2 Cor 4:15 “For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.”

2. 1 Peter 5:5 “Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.”

3. Romans 5:2 “By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

4. 1 Cor 1:3 “Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” - Grace can be prayed for.

These are just the specific passages that deal with receiving more grace by putting ourselves in a position to receive it. But if you think about grace in a more general sense, we are really asking, How do we see God work in our lives in all the various ways that grace impacts us? That broader sense opens up a whole lot of other passages that we could go to:

Scripture changes us 2 Tim 3:16-17 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”

Prayer gets the ear of God Matt 7:7 “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:”

So there are many biblical means by which we can place ourselves in a position to receive God’s grace.

What is the end goal of receiving grace?

As I mentioned last week, but many of you were not here so I will review: Grace is all about a person.

Titus 2:11 “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,” When did this grace appear? The answer is in Jesus’ first coming. When Jesus came to earth, He embodied grace and truth John 1:14 “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” That grace poured out from him to us John 1:16 “And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.” While Moses brought the law which revealed sin which brought death, Jesus brought grace. John 1:17 “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”

Grace has a face as David Mathis says. Grace is ultimately God giving Himself to us. When I don’t have strength, it is God’s strength He gives. When I need help, it is His presence that intervenes. When I am sorrowful, it is a vision of His love that comforts me. When I was lost in my sin, it is He that died to pay my penalty. Jesus gives Himself and lives His life through me. That is grace.

1. So the end goal of these means of grace is not to strong arm Jesus into doing what we want. Grace is not about manipulating God into doing what we want Him to do. Add illustration about electricity and water. I can flip a switch but I cannot provide the electricity, I can turn on the faucet but I cannot make the water flow.

2. The end goal of these means of grace is not the spiritual disciplines themselves. - So much of legalism is focused on the forms of religion. Read you bible because it is expected of you. We don’t read our bible out of some legal requirement, we read our bibles to be with Jesus. If you can ever get a grasp on that truth, you won’t struggle so much with desiring to spend time in the word and prayer. Peter makes this connection in 1 Peter 2:2-3 “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” You can perform all the spiritual disciplines and not find grace because you heart is not pursuing the right thing.

3. These habits of grace are about a relationship with Jesus Christ. The end goal of every single one of these habits of grace is communion with Christ. 4. End result is this closeness to Christ and can nformity to Christ. Spiritual disciplines do not make you godly rather the transforming life of Christ lived in you makes you godly. Relate to flipping the electrical switch on an abandoned house. Because there is no connection to Christ by relationship, delight, desire there is no power in the disciplines.

What are the ordinary habits of grace?

The means by which we place ourselves in a position to receive grace are often called: spiritual disciplines, means of grace, habits of grace. I prefer the term ordinary habits of grace. Let me unpack that term.

ordinary- We often look to revivals to produce dramatic spiritual growth in a person’s life, but revivals only exist because Christians have failed to continue growing and have become dormant. The goal is not to have extra-ordinary revivals all the time to keep you alive. That is like using a defibrillator on a person periodically to keep their heart running. These habits of grace are intended to allow the believer to have a consistant walk with the Lord to where he is drawing daily life from Jesus. Abiding in Christ.

Habits- we use the word habits because as we saw, even though God does the work in us, man is not passive. He engages himself and trains himself for godliness, but regularly putting himself into positions where he can receive more grace.

Grace- this work is truly all of God. Using Piper’s illustration

These [disciplines] are the means God has given for drinking at the fountain of life. They don’t earn the enjoyment. They receive it. They are not payments for pleasure; they are pipelines . . . But all of us leak. We all need inspiration and instruction for how to drink—again and again. Habitually- John Piper

I am not going to unpack all of these habits of grace tonight: that will be our main topic for the rest of the year. If this is something that interests you, I suggest you come to the Sunday evening services. There are a ton of lists out there giving the spiritual disciplines, but I am going to give the list that makes the most sense biblically to me. List of the Spiritual gifts will be categorized around three main headings:

Hearing from God

Reading

Meditation

Memorization

Application

Speaking to God

Prayer

Solitude, rest, retreat

Fasting

Worship

Confession

Celebration

Singing

Thanksgiving

Meeting with God’s people

Serving

Edification

Corporate Worship

Preaching

Ordinances

Conclusion

Why have I spent so much time developing the relationship of grace to the spiritual disciplines? Most of fundamentalism has turned our relationship with Jesus Christ into legalism. I cannot lose God’s grace in my life by my demerit and there is nothing I can do to earn more of it either. I am secure in God’s favor Eph 1:6 “To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.” I am also secure in God’s love Romans 8:38-39 “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Legalism says, “If I do these certain actions, God will be more favorable towards me.” Grace says, “How can I place myself in a position to be with Jesus.” And the slope between the two is very slippery if we are not careful to truly understand the relationship of grace to the spiritual disciplines.

Why is this so important? I want to see growth in all of our lives. I pray that we will find our greatest joy and satisfaction in God and seeing Him work in our lives. You will not see true growth or find true joy in your Christianity apart from a working of God’s grace in your life. We need grace to be what we ought to be, to live the way God wants us to live, to find comfort and hope in our trials, to find strength in our weakness, to serve God and others in the Spirit, to experience God’s help, to produce the fruits of the Spirit in our lives. Many of us are wandering around blindly because we do not know how to lay hold of God’s grace.

So I have two questions for you this morning:

Are you practicing these habits of grace in your life?

As you practice these spiritual gifts, have you slipped into legalism or formalism? What are you truly seeking after?

During the invitation, evaluate yourself with these two questions. If you aren’t practicing them, determine that by God’s grace you are going to seek Him more through these habits of grace. If you are like many and you have drifted into theological error in this area, thinking that you can strong arm God or that doing the habits all on their own is enough, then confess that to God. Change the way you think about the spiritual disciplines.