Grace: More Than Forgiveness
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Intro:
Family with a dark secret. At church, all looks fine. At home, it’s a different story.
Verbal, emotional and sometimes physical abuse.
He has uncontrolled episodes of rage followed by seasons of remorse and regret.
She struggles to live what she believes is the role of a good Christian wife but cannot continue to live this way.
Both know the concepts of grace and forgiveness. She extends grace but leaves herself open to more abuse.
He hopes for grace but can’t understand how to change from his evil behavior.
Their culture pushes and pulls as well. Her work friends tell her to get out of there and leave them. Too often, the message from well-meaning Christian folks is simply endure.
Q:
Would a grace-filled God leave us in the condition he finds us?
Would he forgive us, tell us to sin no more without lifting even one finger to empower us over our sin?
Leave us in rage, isolation, depression, addiction, rebellion among so many other sins?
Our struggle is to learn how to understand grace.
To learn that Grace forgives but also guides.
restores and guards.
11 For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. 12 And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, 13 while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. 14 He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.
In this passage, grace appears right next to “self-controlled, upright, godly.”
These are descriptions of how we live. This is clearly more than simply forgiveness.
We’re familiar with “grace that brings salvation.”
But do we understand what it means that grace teaches us to say ‘no’ to ungodliness and worldly passions?
Here are the four key points that Paul wants us to understand:
Grace Brings Salvation
Grace Brings Salvation
11 For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people.
revealed - shown, appeared, shined upon
grace - goodwill, freely given for the benefit of recipient regardless of benefit for the disseminator. Kindness, favor
salvation - a state of preservation from danger of judgment.
Grace Instructs Us How To Live
Grace Instructs Us How To Live
12 And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God,
instructed - shaped by training, discipline, knowledge, skill, to become a well-rounded, productive citizen.
turn from - repudiate, disown, renounce, restrain from indulging in some pleasure.
sinful pleasure - worldly, not spiritual, desire, lust, craving.
wisdom - moderation, self-control, sound in mind
righteousness - upright, fairly, justly, correctly
devotion - proper and fitting respect for God, reverence
God doesn’t want us forever trapped in a cycle of sin and forgiveness. So grace keeps on working for us, teaching us how to resist temptation and ungodliness.
That’s right, we can call on the grace of God before we fall into sin!
There’s more to the Christian life than saying no to sin.
God’s grace is available to replace our sinful habit patterns with self-control, so we can live upright and godly lives.
This is not the result of trusting in our works, but rather allowing grace to teach us.
Grace Gives Us Hope
Grace Gives Us Hope
13 while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed.
wonderful day - makarios - blessed, happy, fortunate, highly favored
hope - expectation, confidently anticipated
revealed - deity becoming visible, appearing.
Do you see the connection in these verses?
Life in Christ is not meant to be a desperate fight against sin, nor even a narrow focus on godly living.
In verse 13 we see that it’s God grace that fills us with hope—hope for this life, and the next.
Grace Empowers Us
Grace Empowers Us
14 He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.
free - redeem, liberate, ransom
sin - lawlessness, transgression, defiance to law
cleanse - purge of evil, purify
totally commited - zelotes - fervent, even militant proponent, enthusiast
good deeds - praiseworthy work
Too many believers are stuck in an unhealthy pattern. We choose sin, which is bad enough.
Worse still, afterward, a voice in our head tries to drag us down deeper still. It’s the voice of the Adversary.
He whispers enticement before our sin and shouts condemnation after.
His is a voice skilled in subtle influence, followed by paralyzing guilt. It’s a voice filled with accusation.
He is a liar and the Father of Lies; lies are his native tongue.
Sin brings death, it’s true, but God’s grace wipes away the penalty of death and the stain of sin. Even better, grace does more. It raises us to life and teaches us a new way to live.
What he asks, he empowers. Jesus says, “Go, and sin no more.”
He also makes this command possible. He takes us to the source and gives us hope.
This is a kind of resurrection, a resurrection from a life of sin.
Resurrection isn’t just for Jesus; it’s for us. It’s not just for the end of days; it’s so we can walk in newness of life.
Sin puts us in the tomb; Jesus rolls away the stone, as often as we need.
4 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.
22 But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life.
Application:
Our application of these verses can be very personal: we can pray, listen, and learn. Let me explain:
In our daily prayers, we should include prayers like this: “Spirit of God, please open my eyes and heart to recognize your grace-works in my life.”
It’s also a part of God’s grace to answer prayers like this. Jesus assured us that if we ask him for bread, he will not give us a stone (Matt. 7:7-11).
7 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? 10 Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! 11 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.
We can be confident that God will answer prayers like this one.
After our time of prayer, it is our opportunity to learn.
Make a few notes of what came to your mind.
What did you discover about God as you prayed and listened?
What did you discover about yourself?
You can be sure that God will lead you toward a larger understanding of grace.
In the coming week, what might happen if you tried this exercise once a day, each day?
This exercise is not about merely gaining biblical knowledge (as important as that may be).
It’s about opening our eyes, ears, and lives to the deeper grace God has in store.
God’s grace wants to teach us a new way to live!
True, we will still stumble and fall along the way, but there is always grace for forgiveness.
Better still, there’s even more grace available to us for each new day and every new situation.
