Last week, we looked at the first aspect of God's amazing grace - His seeking grace. We're drawn to Christ by God's grace and are saved through Christ by God's grace. Which brings us to a second aspect of God's amazing grace - His Saving Grace. (READ TEXT) Paul speaks about our salvation, which is by grace through faith. Let's look at what he says and see what we can learn about God's Saving Grace.
1. Our salvation is grace given - v. 8a
The dictionary definition: "the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings."
"Grace is God’s love in action towards men who merited the opposite of love. It is God moving heaven and earth to save sinners who could not lift a finger to save themselves. It is God sending His only Son to descend into hell on the cross so that we guilty ones might be reconciled to God and received into heaven." - J.I Packer
Understanding the difference between mercy and grace has helped me understand better God's Saving Grace.
Mercy is my not receiving what I deserve. When God saves me, it means I don't have to go to hell, which I deserve. I don't have to live eternally barred from God's presence, which I deserve. I'm no longer the object of God's wrath, which I deserve. That's God's mercy. I don't receive what I deserve.
Grace, however, is more than mercy. Grace is my receiving what I do not deserve. When God saves me through my placing my faith in Christ, it means I not only do not have to go to hell, but that I get to go to heaven, which I do not deserve. It means I not only do not have to live eternally barred from God's presence, but that I get to eternally
enjoy God's presence, which I do not deserve. It means that I am not only no longer the object of God's wrath, but that now, I am the object of His blessing. That is God's grace. I receive what I do not deserve.
One terrific description of Saving Grace is that it is . . .
God's Riches At Christ's Expense
Because of Christ's payment for our sins, through faith in Him, by God's grace, we now have access to all the riches of God. God took our place on the cross, paying the penalty for our sin, so that through accepting His payment for our sin on our behalf, we might be brought to a place of right relationship with God. That's God's saving grace.
In his classic work, "The Divine Exchange," Derek Prince lists 10 things that were accomplished for us by the cross:
1. Jesus was punished that we might be forgiven;
2. Jesus was wounded that we might be healed;
3. Jesus was made sin with our sinfulness, that we might be made righteous with His righteousness;
4. Jesus tasted death for us that we might share His life;
5. Jesus was made a curse that we might receive the blessing;
6. Jesus endured our poverty that we might share His abundance;
7. Jesus bore our shame that we might share His glory;
8. Jesus endured my rejection that I might have His acceptance with the Father;
9. He was cut off that we might be joined to the Lord; and
10. Our Old Man was put to death in Him that the New Man might come to life in us.
"Come, and see the victories of the cross. Christ’s wounds are your healings, His agonies your repose, His conflicts your conquests, His groans your songs, His pains your ease, His shame your glory, His death your life, His sufferings your salvation." - Matthew Henry
"For you are recognizing [more clearly] the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ [His astonishing kindness, His generosity, His gracious favor], that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that by His poverty you might become rich (abundantly blessed)." - 2 Corinthians 8:9 (Amplified)
2. Our salvation is faith accessed - 8b
By His grace, God initiated all that was necessary to provide for our salvation. Now, it's up to us to respond to His provision of grace and His invitation to benefit from that provision. How? By faith. What is faith? There are three elements associated with saving faith.
A. There is the content of saving faith. Certain things are required for us to know about Christ if we are to be saved.
"Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. It is this Good News that saves you . . . I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said." - 1 Corinthians 15:1-2a; 3-4 (NLT)
1) Jesus is the Christ (Messiah) foretold by Scripture;
2) He took the punishment we deserved for our sin in our place so we wouldn't have to;
3) He proved He fully paid sin's penalty and provided forgiveness and salvation for us by being raised from the dead.
These are the essential things we must know in order to be saved.
B. There is the conviction of saving faith. One can know the truths we just mentioned and yet not believe they are true. Saving faith requires that one believe that the content of the Gospel is true.
C. There is the commitment of saving faith. Knowing and believing the content of Good News is not enough, for even demons can do that (James 2:19). Faith is only saving faith if one personally commits to trusting in Christ alone for salvation. All three of these components are seen in Paul's instructions about salvation to the Romans:
"If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (content). For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God (conviction), and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved (commitment)." - Romans 10:9-10 (NLT)
I can accept as fact that a chair is constructed in such a way as to hold a person's weight; and I can believe that the chair can hold my weight. But I do not benefit from the chair's ability until I commit to sit in it. Only then does the chair do me good.
Likewise, I can understand the message of the Good News and believe the message to be true, but I do not benefit from the work of Christ accomplished for my salvation until I personally commit to trusting only in Him.
Saving faith is: Forsaking All I Trust Him
"Jesus is not one of many ways to approach God, nor is He the best of several ways; He is the only way." - A. W. Tozer
3. Our salvation is God glorifying - 8c-9
We deserve no credit in our salvation; but God deserves all the glory!
Salvation isn't gained by our effort, it is given by God's grace!
"When I was coming to Christ, I thought I was doing it all myself, and though I sought the Lord earnestly, I had no idea the Lord was seeking me. I do not think the young convert is at first aware of this. I can recall the very day and hour when first I received those truths in my own soul. One week-night, when I was sitting in the house of God, the thought struck me, 'How did you come to be a Christian?' I sought the Lord. But how did you come to seek the Lord? The truth flashed across my mind in a moment - I should not have sought Him unless there had been some previous influence in my mind to make me seek Him. I prayed, thought I, but then I asked myself, how came I to pray? I was induced to pray by reading the Scriptures. How came I to read the Scriptures? I did read them, but what led me to do so? Then, in a moment, I saw that God was at the bottom of it all, and that He was the Author of my faith, and so the whole doctrine of grace opened up to me, and from that doctrine I have not departed to this day, and I desire to make this my constant confession, 'I ascribe my change wholly to God.'" - Charles Spurgeon
Conclusion: Sometimes people get stirred up by the idea, if God does all the saving, does that mean He chooses who will and will not be saved? The Bible does not teach that. But there is something associated with saving grace and choices that I think God is stirred up about. 1) That I choose who can or can't be saved; and 2) that I decide that I cannot be saved. Saving grace says, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." - Romans 10:13 (NLT)
