TEACHING SERMON – UNLIMITED RICHES OF GOD’S GRACE

Bible Passages; Ephesians 2;1-14, Ephesians 1;1-14, Romans 4&5

The principle of grace is as fundamental to Christianity as that of justice to Law. Or love is to marriage.  Christianity cannot be understood apart from an adequate grasp of grace.  The doctrine of grace distinguishes the Christian faith from every other religion in the world.  Rightly understood and applied, the doctrine of grace can revolutionize one’s Christian life.  In acrostic fashion we have been taught to define grace as God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense; UNLIMITED RICHES OF GOD’S GRACE – John 1;29 & Gal. 3;13; Grace is God’s life-transforming gift of His favour to those who do not deserve it.  The gift of salvation and forgiveness of sins is available for all who through faith accept His grace revealed in Jesus Christ, but so many miss the gift because they rely on themselves and try to earn grace by keeping the law – Ephesians 2;8-9, Ephesians 1;7.

God’s grace also supplies us with everything we need for daily life, and to that end He invites us to come to Him with our needs.  His grace is rich and unlimited because it is a total package that includes our wellbeing here and in the hereafter.  Jesus said in John 10:10b that “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”  This is holistic wellbeing and it is further expantiated in Luke 4:18-19.  To a limited extent, even the wicked receives blessings from God’s grace.

Grace is favour or kindness shown without regard to the worth or merit of the one who receives it and in spite of what the person deserves.  Grace is one of the key attributes of God.  The Lord God is “merciful and gracious”, long-suffering and abounding in goodness and truth – Exodus 34:6.  Therefore, grace is almost always associated with mercy, love, compassion and patience.

In the Old Testament, the supreme example of grace was the redemption of the Hebrew people from Egypt and their establishment in the Promised Land.  This did not happen because of any merit on Israel’s part, but in spite of their unrighteousness (Deut. 7;7-8, 9;5-6).

Although, the grace of God is always free and undeserved, it must not be taken for granted.  Grace is only enjoyed within the COVENANT – the gift is given by God, and repentance and faith – Amos 5;5, Rom. 6;1-4.  Grace is to be humbly sought through the prayer of faith – Malachi 1:9.

The grace of God was supremely revealed and given in the person and work of Jesus Christ.  Jesus was not only the beneficiary of God’s grace (Luke 2:40), but was also its very embodiment (John 1:14), bringing it to humankind for salvation – Titus 2:11.  By His death and resurrection, Jesus restored the broken fellowship between God and His people, both Jews and Gentiles.  The only way of salvation for any person is “through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ” – Acts 15;11.

The grace of God revealed in Jesus Christ is applied to human beings for their salvation by the Holy Spirit, who is called “the Spirit of grace” – Heb. 10;29.  The Spirit is the one who binds Christ to His people so that they receive forgiveness, adoption to sonship, and newness of life, as well as every spiritual gift or grace – Eph. 4;7.

Apostle Paul makes it abundantly clear that salvation is not something that can be earned, it can be received only as a gift of grace – Rom. 4;4.  Grace, however, must be accomplished by faith; a person must trust in the mercy and favour of God, even while it is undeserved – Rom. 4;16, Gal. 2;16.

The Exceeding Riches of His Grace; “So is it with the Grace of God; He has as much grace as we want, and He has a great deal more than that. The Lord has as much grace as a whole universe will require, but He has vastly more.  He overflows; all the demands that can ever be made on the grace of God will never impoverish Him, or even diminish His store of mercy; there will remain an incalculably precious mine of mercy as full as when He first began to bless the sons of men” – Spurgeon.

One way to see the greatness of the grace of God is to see how He begs man to receive it.  When we offer a gift to someone and they refuse it, we are likely to allow them to refuse and leave them alone.  God does not do this with us; even when we refuse His mercy, He reaches into His storehouse of grace and persists with us, begging us to receive the free gift.

GRACE AND FAITH

We said earlier that grace means unmerited, unearned, undeserved favour.  Therefore, the good news is, grace has nothing to do with us.  Grace existed before we ever came to be.  Another way of saying it is, grace is God’s part.  Faith is defined as being a positive response to what God has already provided for us.  Therefore, faith is our part.

Grace and faith work together, and they must be in balance. Ephesians 2:8-9 says we are saved by grace through faith.  Let us think this way – grace is what God does; faith is what we do.  It takes both working together to receive salvation.

Salvation is not dependent on grace alone.  He has already given the gift of salvation to everyone through Jesus but it is by faith that a person receives it – Rom. 10;8-10.  God has already done His part; it is now up to us to receive the truth by faith and make it a reality in our lives – John 8;32,36.

Romans 4;1-5, 9-14, 16-25 and 5;1-2 unequivocally talk about the necessity of faith in accessing God’s grace which guarantees our salvation.

The doctrine of justification by faith alone is essential to the gospel.  The gospel ceases to be ‘good news’ if it ceases to declare that Christ alone has accomplished our salvation.  If we contribute anything more to our salvation than simply believing what Christ has already done, we cheapen His word of grace and declare it insufficient.  Justification is God’s act of pardoning sinners and accepting them as righteous for Christ’s sake.  It is a forensic, or legal term, meaning that sinners are declared righteous.  It is a positional term meaning that we are declared righteous positionally before God.  This means is received by faith.

FAITH AND WORKS – JAMES 2;14-26

What a famous line from James 2;18 “Someone will say, you have faith; I have deeds.”  Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.  James is not the only writer in the New Testament who championed a faith that works hard.

Paul was also committed to this idea.  He said that we are created in Christ in to do good works, work that God had long ago planned for us to be about – Ephesians 2;10.  What James is saying is that every Christian saved through faith in Christ has this calling, to do good works. Jesus Christ gave Himself for us “to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good – Titus 2;14.  Let your light shine before men that they may see your good work ………. Matthew 5;16, and again, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” – Matthew 5;48.  Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God” – Romans 12;1.

This is how it works, the believer yields himself to receiving the grace of God through faith in the accomplished work of salvation done by Christ.  He then receives the Holy Spirit Who transforms him and empowers him daily as he studies the Word of God and prays.  With the indwelling Holy Spirit, he is being transformed daily to the image of Christ from glory to glory – 2 Cor. 3;18.  In Colossians 1;27, we are told that Christ indwells the Christian through the Holy Spirit – John 14;23.  Jesus said also in Matt. 7;15-20 that every tree is known by their fruits.  The Christian produces the fruit of the Holy Spirit because Christ lives in him.

Apostle Paul is correct when he wrote “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh.  I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me.  I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain” – Gal. 2;20-21.  At the point of conversion the old man dies and the new man is born in Christ – 2 Cor. 5;17.

Finally, 1 John 2;4,6 say “He who says, I know Him” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him”.    He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk as He walked” And 1 John 3;9 says “Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God”.

We are saved by grace through faith in the Son of God and we become the righteousness of God in Christ just as the faith of Abraham was accounted for him as righteousness – 2 Cor. 5;21.  The faith of Abraham in God engendered his total loyalty, allegiance and obedience to God.