Partner In Grace

Introduction – God’s Part and Our Part

This morning I want to talk about what it means to be a partner in grace—how God and we work together in this journey of salvation.

Paul says, “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you.”

Notice that: two workers, one purpose.

We work it out; God works it in.

Now, there’s a mystery here.

If God is the One who works in me, then how much freedom do I really have?

And if I have freedom, how much does God control?

That question takes us straight into one of the oldest debates in the world—Do I really have a choice?

Am I truly free to decide who I’ll become?

Or has my life already been written for me?

Before we go too deep, let me lighten the mood a bit.

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The Cookie-Jar Girl

A pastor was teaching the Ten Commandments to a group of children.

When he came to “Thou shalt not steal,” he leaned forward and said, “Now, children, what would the cookie jar say to you if it could talk?”

A little girl lifted her hand and said, “It would say, ‘Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not!’”

She felt drawn to that cookie jar—like something outside herself was calling her name.

She knew she shouldn’t, but she wanted to.

She was already wrestling with freedom and desire.

Haven’t we all been there?

The cookie jar may look different for each of us, but we all know what it feels like to be pulled by something that seems stronger than our will.

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The Word “Determinism”

There’s a big word for this idea: determinism.

It means that everything that happens—including what we do—is determined by something else.

Some people believe every decision we make is already set in motion by our past, our upbringing, our biology, even the stars.

If that’s true, then we’re not really free—and we can’t be held responsible for what we do.

But the Bible won’t let us go that far.

From Genesis to Revelation, God calls people to choose.

“Choose this day whom you will serve.”

“Come now, let us reason together.”

“If anyone will come after Me, let him deny himself.”

God never treats us like puppets.

He treats us like partners.

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Steinbeck and the Word “Timshel”

There’s a scene in John Steinbeck’s novel East of Eden that captures this tension beautifully.

The whole book is built around the story of Cain and Abel—the first brothers, the first offering, the first murder.

Cain brought his gift; Abel brought his.

God accepted Abel’s and rejected Cain’s, and Cain burned with anger.

Then the Lord said to him,

> “Sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.”

That verse haunted one of Steinbeck’s characters, a wise old Chinese servant named Mr. Lee.

He couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Did God mean you will master it—like destiny?

Or you must master it—like command?

Or you may master it—like permission?

He studied the word in Hebrew—timshel.

After two years of searching, he and some scholars concluded it meant “Thou mayest.”

Not you must or you will, but you may.

In other words: You have a choice.

Mr. Lee said he had never been prouder to be human.

And the novel ends with that word—Timshel—spoken as a blessing from father to son:

> “Thou mayest.”

You are free to choose.

That one word sums up the dignity God gave us.

We may choose.

We are free to love, free to obey, free even to resist.

But as true as that freedom is, it isn’t the whole story.

Because life has a way of showing us that our freedom isn’t unlimited.

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The Forces That Shape Us

Let’s be honest—there are things about us we never got to vote on.

I didn’t choose my parents.

I didn’t choose my genetic makeup.

I didn’t choose where I was born, or the time in history I live.

Those things shape me before I ever make my first decision.

Family Influence

Our parents program us early—how to react, how to trust, how to fear, how to love.

Even before we could reason, we were learning what to expect from people and from life.

Genetics

Then there are our genes.

Some of us are tall, some short.

Some of us are wired for optimism; some struggle with depression.

It’s easy for a naturally cheerful person to say, “Just be happy!”

But someone born with a more anxious temperament will find that harder.

Language and Culture

Even the language we learn shapes how we think.

Words build worlds.

The way an English speaker thinks is not the same as a person raised in Zulu or Mandarin.