January 31, 2016

Pastor Dan’s Message

What is Grace?

Turning Point Wesleyan Church

GRACE. What is the meaning of Grace?

For us to gain a full understanding of what GRACE actually is, we could include questions such as these.

·         What is it?

·         Where does it come from?

·         What is its Meaning?

·         How do we achieve it?

·         What does it do for you and me?

·         And once we have it, can we lose it?

The word "grace" in biblical manner of speaking means:

·         Forgiveness,

·         Repentance,

·         Regeneration,

·         And Salvation.

It can hold a meaning as broad as describing the wholeness of God's activity toward man or as narrow as describing only one segment of that activity. An accurate, common definition describes grace as the ‘Unmerited favor of God toward man’.

In the writings of the Old Testament, the term that most often is translated for "grace" is hen ( !x ) [ej]. And then in the New Testament, it is referred to as charis ( cariß ) [cavri"].

The Old Testament.

In the Old Testament, the word hen occurs within its scripture around sixty times or so. There are examples of ‘man's favor upon or to man’, but the theological thought of importance for us from God is described as the ‘Grace of God revealed toward man’.

Grace occurs most often in the phrase of favor.

·          ‘In God’s Sight’

·         Or "in the eyes of the Lord."

This adopts the notion of God to be a watchful master or king, with the one who is finding favor with a servant, an employee, or perhaps even a soldier.

The concept of Grace first appearing in Genesis 6:8. This is when Noah finds "favor in the eyes of the Lord."  The context is that the Lord was grieved at "how great man's wickedness on the earth had become." (Geneses 6:5)

This statement about the Lord's disappointment and hatred towards mankind is followed by God’s promise that He will wipe humankind from the face of the earth. Completely destroying him, because of the decisions which we have made. We traded in a life of being for and worshiping God Himself for a Life of being with and following the devil.  

Noah is then described as having found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

The themes of judgment and salvation, in which the vast majority of humankind are condemned to destruction, while God finds favor on a few (Noah and his family), reoccurs often in connection with the “idea of grace”.

Therefore, concepts of Election, Salvation, Mercy, And Forgiveness.

All of these thoughts are linked in this first illustration of grace in the Old Testament.

Here is An Interesting thing to Note: In the rest of the Book of Genesis, the remaining references to ‘FAVOR’ are all describe as ‘favor in the eyes of man’ (e.g., Jacob begging Esau's favor. (Genesis 32:5, 33:8, 33:10, 33:15)

Then in the next Book of the Bible, we find the conversations between Moses and God. This is where we find ‘Unmerited Favor of God’. (Exodus 33)

Here in the space of six verses, Moses is said to have found in favor with God five times, hen [ej] being translated either as "find favor" or "be pleased with."

In Exodus 33:10, we find Moses going into the tent of meeting, and the pillar cloud of God would come down and stand at the entrance of the tent so God could talk to Moses. The people of Israel would stay outside, worshiping all the while the Lord spoke to Moses "face to face, as a man speaks with his friend."

In this passage, the conversation between Moses and the Lord has to do specifically with the favor that God shows to Moses. The Lord promises only that his "Presence" will go with Moses, and that he will give him rest. (v. 14)

We find Moses requesting God to teach him His ways, so that Moses may "know you and continue to find favor with you." (v. 13)

Moses demonstrates his humble dependence upon the Grace of God by stating that if God's Presence does not go up with them, then he does not want to be sent. (v.15)

But here he asks a reasonable question, "How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us?" (v. 16) And in response, God promises to go with him in the next verse because "I am pleased with you and I know you by name." (v. 17) God is telling Moses and you and me that when we seek and have a life with Him, through our Belief, He is pleased with us and that He will always be with us.

Then in Exodus 33:19, God shares this with Moses. "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." Later, Paul also references this passage in Romans 9. This is a remarkable example of the unconditional and full character of the grace of God. God is very protective and gracious towards those of us who are trusting and faithful towards Him.

And God's favor sometimes extends to even those who react in such a way which causes God to wait upon man as if God was our servant.

Gideon is an example of one of these. He told God to wait until he was able to prepare an offering for God. (Judges 6:17)  

Samuel was another who found favor in the eyes of the Lord. (1 Samuel 2:26)

Here, the boy Samuel is described as growing in stature and in favor, not only with the Lord, but also with men. This verse is also quoted within the New Testament, (Luke 2:52) using the heavily theologically weighted term charis [far-is] - [cavri"] in relation to Jesus. It is significant because it is a description of the growth of a child in the favor of God. The child cannot earn that favor since he is merely a child. Thus, God's grace toward those whom he loves grows in its fullness, as the child grows. This is also important because of Samuel's unique relationship to the salvation history. Samuel is the last of the judges and is the transitional figure between the period of the judges and the period of the kings in Israel's history.

Just as Samuel played an important role in the Old Testament, John the Baptist played this same transitional role between the Prophets and the Apostles.

Remarkably, the life of David is lacking of references of finding Favor in the Eyes of the Lord, though often he finds Favor in the Eyes of Men. (1 Samuel 16:22, 20:3, 20:29)

But we gain a perspective about God’s Grace from David in 2 Samuel 15:26. This is when David says that if he finds favor in the Lord's eyes, then God will bring him back. But if he does not, then David is ready; as he puts it, "Let him do to me whatever seems good to him." (2 Samuel 15:26) David recognizes that the unmerited favor of God has to do with God's choice, and not his.

Of course, the Book of Esther does not speak of God's favor at all, but it does describe Esther's humility in seeking the favor of the king and this has always been understood as a direction for humankind’s responsibility to humbly accept the Grace of God.

Esther finds favor in the eyes of the king and is rewarded with the freedom of her people. (5:1-8, 7:3, 8:5-8)

We also have Ezra in his famous prayer to God when he finds that the people have intermarried with foreigners against God's will. In Ezra 9, it states that God has been gracious to the people of Israel "for a brief moment," in doing two things. The first is that he has left the people of Israel a remnant; a left over; a residue. Even in times when there is great disobedience and/or destruction, God allows remnants to survive as a way of showing His Gracious Favor upon his people. God has also given them "a firm place in his sanctuary, and so our God gives light to our eyes and a little relief in our bondage." (Ezra 9:8)

Another crucial reference is found in Jeremiah 31. The famous passage about the new covenant (vv. 31-34) is enough of a statement about the Grace of God on its own, but it is linked to the hen [thean] [ej] of God by the occurrence of that word in 31:2. ntroducing the same passage with the phrase "at that time," an echo of the beginning of the covenant passage in 31:31, God says that "the people who survive the sword will find grace in the desert; I will come to give rest to Israel."

Here is a promise of the grace of God given to the people when they are given the new covenant. The new covenant, of course, is a promise that God will be their God. And they will be his people, with the Law written upon their hearts and present in their minds, and the gracious promise that all God's people will know Him. From the least of them to the greatest, they will be forgiven of their wickedness, and God will remember their sins no more.

The New Testament.

Grace in the Old Testament is just as much an act of the sovereign will of God as is grace in the New Testament. Grace within the New Testament is largely covered by the use of the word charis [cavri"].

While the ‘idea’ of unmerited favor is found in the New Testament, the truth is that Jesus was never quoted as using the word charis [cavri"]. However we cannot dispute that the teachings of Jesus’ are full of the unmerited favor of God.

Perhaps the parable of the prodigal son is the most obvious example of this. In this parable, grace is extended to the son who has no basis upon which to be shown that grace, other than the fact that the son had asked in humility and acted in repentance.

There are other parables which also demonstrate grace in the teaching of Jesus:

·         Perhaps most notably was the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. (Matthew 20-1-16)

·         And the parable of the great supper. (Luke 14:16-24)

While the ‘idea of grace’ can be said to be largely within the writings of Paul, there are other references to it which can be found in the Books of John and of Luke as well.

John describes Jesus as "full of grace and truth" and speaks of his people receiving grace upon grace from the fullness of his grace. (John 1:16) In one of the most important theological statements about grace within Scripture, John says that the Law, a good thing, was given through Moses; the better things of grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1:17)

When we turn to the writings of Luke, we find that Jesus is described as having the grace of God upon him (Luke 2:40) and as growing in grace with God and man. (Luke 2:52)

Many more references to grace are found in the Book of Acts. Luke makes a strong association between grace and power. (Acts 4:33, 6:8, 11:23) Grace is found without qualifier (Acts 18:27) and in the phrases "message of his grace,"(Acts 14:3), "grace of God", (Acts 14:26), "grace of our Lord Jesus", (Acts 15:11), "grace of the Lord." (Acts 15:40) These phrases often seemed to be linked with the power of God to create spiritual life and to sustain Christians.

This grace is, as it was in the Old Testament passages, an unmerited favor, but now, with a new aspect of power in the Holy Spirit has been added to it. But the concept of grace is most obviously found within the New Testament in the letters of Paul.

Paul’s greetings are unique in that he combined the Hebrew greeting shalom – [ sha-lome ] with the word charis [far-is]. And sometimes Paul uses grace in his benedictions or blessings as well. For instance, the benediction in 1 Corinthians 16:23, coming just after his intense plea to the Lord to come. This demonstrates Paul’s strong belief within the Grace of God.

Overwhelmingly in the letters of Paul, God is the subject of grace. Paul explains that God gives it freely and without merit. It is interesting, Paul sometimes mentions the gift of grace from God using it alongside the language that speaks of human responsibility.

For an example, Romans 15:16, Paul speaks of "the grace God gave me to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God." Grace, then, is the power with which the human being then performs his or her gifted task.

The Book of Hebrews also emphasizes the connection of grace to salvation (Hebrews 2:9), sanctification (Hebrews 4:16, 12:15, 13:9) and the final blessing of God. (13:25)

In other literature within the New Testament also emphasizes the free character of grace. The one reference in James links it to God's gift. (James 4:6)

Peter, who also includes it in his greeting, quotes the same Old Testament verse as James had (1 Peter 5:5) and speaks of us as stewards of the grace of God. (1 Peter 4:10) Peter also closes his second epistle with a benediction asking for us to join in with him on "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

And then in the Book of Revelation, we have John also who begins with an acknowledgment and closes with a blessing that includes grace. (Rev 1:4, 22:21)

As we can reflect upon Paul’s and all other’s whom we discussed today. As we reflect upon their Belief in God, it is not just of knowledge of there being a God what they rest upon in their faith but rather they lived their lives through their beliefs of God.

God calls us to rely upon Him for everything. That is the type of Belief we must have to receive His Grace and to be saved by Him. Grace is given by God as a free gift to those whom live their life through their belief in Him.

BUT THIS IS IMPORTANT - We can rest in the knowledge that God’s gift of Grace is sufficient for all and for all things - BUT we must constantly come back and check on the quality as well as quantity of our belief in God.

The Devil is a sly one and he wants nothing more than for us to become complacent, relaxed, and comfortable in our growth with our Lord.

It is so easy to become so comfortable in our faith that in all truth, we actually begin to drift from God and soon, although we still may feel safe, we are actually lost far from God once again. 

·         Grace comes from only God the Father, through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

·         We are given Grace by God the Father at His Choosing.

·         We get it through our Love for God and His Love for us.

·         Through Grace, we receive Forgiveness, accompanied by our Repentance of our sins, it is our Regeneration within God, and it is our Salvation.

·         And although we can rest in Great Assurance that God’s Grace is sufficient to overcome everything and anything that we could have done.

However, through our own free will, it is possible for us through our choices, we can walk away from God and out of His Grace.

But just as we had talked about earlier, Jesus told us exactly what to do within parable of the prodigal son, come back, repent and ask to come in once again.