Grace

Grace

I’ve heard folks talk bad about Baptists, because of the emphasis they put on grace. 

They’ll say things like:

·         Those Baptists love to play the “grace card”.

·         They think “Oh, I’m saved by grace, so I can live however I want to.”

To me, this line of thinking shows an incomplete understanding of “Grace”.

True, the Bible teaches that we are saved by grace alone.  That is strikingly clear in Ephesians 2:8-9.  But let us look at what Grace is:

• ·         Grace is an undeserved free gift.
• ·         Grace is unmerited favor.
• ·         Grace is receiving the opposite of what we deserve.
• ·         Grace is “the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man” (Titus 3:4)

And it is only on this basis that we can expect God to save us.

But grace has a TWOFOLD manifestation:

1.        In Salvation (Eph. 2:8-9, Romans 3:24)

2.       In the walk and service of the saved (Romans 6:15)

You’ve got to look at BOTH manifestations of grace.  Not only as a method of divine dealing in salvation, but also as the method of God in the believer’s life and service.  As saved, the believer is not under the law, but under grace (Romans 6:14).   Having by grace brought the believer into the highest conceivable position (Eph. 1:6), God ceaselessly works through grace, to impart to, and perfect in the believer, corresponding graces (John 15:4-5, Gal. 5:22-23). 

Grace, therefore, stands connected with:

1.        Service –

a.       Romans 12:6, 15:15-16,

b.      1 Corinthians 1:3-7, 3:10, 15:10

c.       2 Corinthians 12:9-10

d.      Galatians 2:9

e.      Ephesians 3:7-8, 4:7

f.        Philemon 1:7

g.       2 Timothy 2:1-2

h.      1 Peter 4:10

2.       Christian Growth

a.       2 Corinthians 1:12

b.      Ephesians 4:29

c.       Colossians 3:16, 4:6

d.      2 Thessalonians 1:12

e.      Hebrews 4:16, 12:28-29, 13:9

f.        James 4:6

g.       1 Peter 2:9, 3:7, 5:5 & 10

h.      2 Peter 3:18

i.         Jude 1:4

3.       Giving

a.       2 Corinthians 4:15

b.      2 Corinthians 8:1, 6, 7, 19

c.       2 Corinthians 9:14

Going back to our passage in Ephesians, after the Apostle Paul declares that salvation is by grace alone in verses 8-9, he says in the next verse that, "We are [God's] workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."  Good works do not lead to salvation, but rather salvation leads to good works. When we are saved by grace, we are made new in Christ and good works will follow. But these are never performed as an effort to gain salvation. They are always the fruit of salvation that is given freely to us in Christ.

The evidence of true Christian faith is not a momentary decision, but rather the fruit of a faithful life.