"What is of Grace?"

 

(This sermon was shared at Joliet Christian Church on Sunday, August 23, 2020 by Mary Hyvonen.  Thank you, Mary!) 

 

Grace is a part of God’s character.

 Grace is God’s , love, and mercy. Grace can also be defined as “God’s favor toward the unworthy” or “God’s benevolence on the undeserving.” In His grace, God is willing to forgive us and bless us, although we do not deserve it!

To understand grace, we need to understand who we were without Christ and who we become with Christ. We were born in sin

(Psalm 51:5) 

⁵ Surely I was sinful at birth,
    sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

(Romans 3:23 )

²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

(1 John 1:8-10) 

⁸ If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

 

Spiritually, we were destitute, blind, unclean, and dead. Our souls were in danger of everlasting punishment.

But then came grace. God extended His favor to us. Grace is what saves us

 

Ephesians 2:8 

⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—

Grace is the essence of the gospel. Grace gives us victory over sin

James 4:6

⁶ But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

“God opposes the proud
    but shows favor to the humble.”^[a]

 

Grace gives us “eternal encouragement and good hope” Paul repeatedly identified grace as the basis of his calling as an apostle. Jesus is the embodiment of grace, coupled with truth

John 1:16-17 

¹⁶ Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. ¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

 

The Bible tells us that grace a “gift”. This is important because it teaches us some key things:

First, if we receive a gift, we know that it is much different than a loan, we do not repay or return it. The fact that grace is a gift means that nothing is owed in return.

Second, there is no cost to the person who receives it. This gift is free!!, although it is not free to God, he bears the expense. The gift of salvation is free!!  The gift of Heaven is free!!  Grace is the spiritual freedom that arises when you realize that life is a gift. From this awareness, you seek to live in harmony with the God that created the earth and stars. From this friendship, arises profound feeling of happiness as will as spiritual, emotional and mental freedom. But the price of such an extravagant gift came at a great cost for our Lord Jesus, who died in our place.

Third, once it has been given, it is now ours to keep. This is a permanent gift When it changes hands. God relinquishes all rights to it. God’s grace is now ours forever.

Fourth, in the giving of a gift, the God voluntarily forfeits something he owns, willingly losing what belongs to him so that we will profit from it. God becomes poorer so we can become richer.  This gift from God to us, is visible.

 

 2 Corinthians 8:9:

“You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”

Finally, the Bible teaches that grace is completely unmerited. The gift and the act of giving have nothing at all to do with our good deeds.

 In fact, the Bible says quite clearly that we do not deserve God’s salvation.

 

Romans 5:8–10

 “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

 While we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son.”

Grace does not stop once we are saved; God is gracious to us for the rest of our lives, working within and upon us. The Bible says, that grace is secure for every believer:

• Grace justifies us before a holy God

• Grace provides us access to God to communicate and fellowship with Him

 

 • Grace wins for us a new relationship of intimacy with God

 

• Grace disciplines and trains us to live in a way that honors God.

• Grace grants us immeasurable spiritual riches

• Grace helps us in our every need.

• Grace is the reason behind our every deliverance.

 

Hebrews 4:16 

¹⁶ Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

 

• Grace preserves us and comforts, encourages, and strengthens us.

Grace is always working in the lives of God’s people.,  

The apostle Paul credited his success of his ministry not to his own hard work, but to “the grace of God that was with me”

 

 Grace is the ongoing, benevolent act of God working in us, without which we can do nothing

Grace is greater than our sin 

Romans 5:20 

²⁰ The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased more,

Grace is more abundant than we expect, and too wonderful and bountiful for words

As the recipients of God’s grace, we are to be gracious to others.

Grace is given to us to serve others and to exercise our spiritual gifts for the building up of the church Divine grace enables us to resist evil and strengthens the will to do good. It enlightens the mind!!! We are able to decern between what is truly good and evil.

 

2 Corinthians 9:15 

¹⁵ Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

Amen