This morning, we conclude our series of messages on the topic of "grace". And just to be clear what it is we’re discussing: When we refer to "grace", it doesn’t have the same meaning as when we speak of another person as being "gracious." It doesn’t signify being courteous, or having good manners. We’re not just talking about being friendly, or generous. No, we’re talking about the grace of God, and that has a very specific meaning. Grace is "God’s free and unmerited favor, shown to guilty sinners who deserve only judgment."
Let’s review what we’ve learned so far. In the past two weeks, we’ve demonstrated that God’s grace – his love, and acceptance, and forgiveness – is completely unconditional. It is given without regard to merit, or worth, or achievement. We can’t earn it or deserve it. We can only receive it in one way: as a gift through faith in Jesus Christ. He purchased our forgiveness by giving his life for us, he suffered the penalty of sin in our place by his death on the cross. And so Paul tells us that,
"Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known . . . This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." – Romans 3:20-24 (NIV)
God will never declare any one righteous because of their good works, or their upright behavior, or their high moral standards. Why? Because we all fall short of God’s standard, which is flawless obedience. We are all guilty sinners, deserving only His judgment. It’s only through faith that we can claim the perfect righteousness of Christ as our own, and be welcomed into fellowship with God.
Not only have we seen that God’s grace is unconditional – undeserved, unearned, unmerited – we’ve also seen that God’s grace is unlimited. It is sufficient to cover every one of our sins, regardless of how serious, or how often repeated. The blood of Christ is worthy enough, and God’s love is powerful enough, to cleanse us from the guilt of all our sins. There’s nothing we need to add, and nothing we can add, to what Christ has done for us. As a result, God now judges us to be completely holy. In his view, we possess the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And that is the way he will always see us, for ever and ever.
"But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you
holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation." – Colossians 1:22 (NIV)
"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." – Romans 8:1 (NIV)
Jesus’ final words on the cross were, "It is finished." Everything that needs to be done in order for us to be forgiven has already been done by Christ. Nothing remains for us to do except receive that forgiveness in faith. And in fact, anything we try to do in order to earn God’s favor is an indication that we have not yet fully understood the finality and complete sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice. There’s nothing left for us to do. He did it all. As a result, we stand before God without blemish. In God’s eyes, we are free from every accusation, we are subject to no condemnation whatsoever. God has not only granted us a full and free pardon, but He has also pronounced us not guilty. Our guilt has been transferred to Christ, and his righteousness, his perfect obedience, has been transferred to us. It is done. It is over. It is finished.
"We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." – Hebrews 10:10 (NIV)
Now, when the unconditional and unlimited nature of God’s grace is proclaimed, there is a very predictable reaction. In fact, it’s so predictable that it’s almost a barometer of whether you are really preaching the grace of God faithfully and clearly. Because invariably, someone will say something like this, "Do you mean to tell me that it makes no difference what I do; that I can sin all I want, and as long as I trust in Christ, God will forgive me and let me into heaven?" And when you say, "yes, that’s right", then they say, "So why should I be good? Why not sin up a storm, and do whatever I like, if God’s going to forgive me anyway?" That’s a valid question. The apostle Paul faced the very same question in response to his teaching.
"Why not say--as we are being slanderously reported as saying and as some claim that we say--"Let us do evil that good may result"?" – Romans 3:8 (NIV)
"What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!" – Romans 6:1-2 (NIV)
What’s the unspoken assumption behind this question? It assumes that the main reason people do the right thing is that they fear the consequences of not doing so. It assumes that people restrain themselves from doing evil primarily because of the fear of punishment, and if you take that away, then they will give themselves over to all kinds of sin.
Well, let’s think about that assumption for a moment. As most of you know, I have three children. And if I do say so myself, my wife and I take pretty good care of them. We make sure that they receive regular, nutritious meals [although we do occasionally resort to serving Fruity Pebbles for supper when our schedules get too hectic, and there are times when it seems that the diet of our youngest son is comprised entirely of granola bars.] But on the whole, they are very well fed. We’re constantly buying them new clothing, including new tennis shoes every three months [Sometimes it seems like a slow-motion version of the old Incredible Hulk TV series as we watch them outgrow their clothes]. We spare no expense to make sure that they receive the best medical care available. A nice home to live in. We don’t beat them, or abuse them in any way. They are well cared for.
Now, what would you think if I told you we do all that because of this document? This is sections 3109 - 3113 of the Ohio Revised Code. These are the laws passed by the Ohio state legislature concerning parental responsibilities for the care of children. The specify the penalties for abuse and neglect. They describe what can happen if you fail to give your children the care they need. What if I told you that the reason I take such good care of my children is so that I won’t risk violating any of these laws, and perhaps be fined, or even go to jail? You wouldn’t believe me. And you’d be right. In fact, I had never even seen these laws until just this week. And if tomorrow the Ohio legislature were to repeal every one of them, it would have no affect whatsoever on how I treat my children. Why? Because avoiding punishment is not my motivation for doing what is right. Love is.
Let me ask you another question: who is likely to take better care of their children; a parent who is motivated by love, or one whose main concern is just doing enough to avoid prosecution? The first, of course. Love is a much more reliable motivator than fear. Or who would you rather be married to? Someone who loved you, and who desired to express that love in how they responded to you, or someone who was only trying to avoid treating you badly enough to land in jail?
In the same way, the motivation for a Christian to obey God is not to avoid punishment. God will not punish us for a sin that Christ has already paid for. No, the motivation for a disciple of Jesus Christ to do what is right is love for God, and love for his neighbor.
"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ’No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age." – Titus 2:11-12 (NIV)
"For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again." – 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 (NIV)
What is it that teaches us to forsake sin and live godly lives? It’s not the threat of condemnation, but the promise of grace. What is it that compels us to do the right thing, to stop doing whatever we want, and instead do what Christ wants? It isn’t the fear of being rejected by God, or losing our salvation. It’s the love of Christ. The more we understand the depth and intensity of His great love for us, the love which he demonstrated by sacrificing his life for us on the cross, the more it will make us love him and want to obey him. As Christ himself taught, we obey because we love:
"’If you love me, you will obey what I command. . . Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.’ . . . ’If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.’" – John 14:15, 21, 23 (NIV)
"This is love for God: to obey his commands." – 1 John 5:3 (NIV)
Let me state this as clearly as possible: the degree to which you are seeking to walk in obedience to Christ is the degree to which you love him. There is no such thing as someone who genuinely loves Christ, but who cares little about keeping his laws. Now, are there people who claim to follow Christ, who even call him "Lord," but who have no intention of obeying him? Of course. They’ve been around from the beginning. For whatever reason, they consider it in their best interests to appear to be followers of Christ. But there’s no love there, and no genuine faith, because there’s no obedience.
"’Why do you call me, "Lord, Lord," and do not do what I say?’" – Luke 6:46 (NIV)
Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Our so-called "good works" add nothing to the equation. God accepts us and forgives us only because of Christ. However, genuine conversion always produces love and obedience as a consequence. And so, if there is no change of life, there is good reason to doubt whether there ever was a change of heart.
"For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord." – Jude 1:4 (NIV)
Can this doctrine of "grace" be abused? Certainly. Any good thing, even the grace of God, can be twisted and perverted for evil purposes. As Paul tells us, It is inevitable that some people, who have no intention of submitting to God, will use "grace" as a cover for every kind of sin and immorality. They may claim to be followers of Christ, but by their actions, they deny him and show that they have no love for Christ and no faith. And unless they repent, their eventual reward will be condemnation and eternal punishment.
God’s grace not only enables us to obey Christ, it also changes our hearts; it transforms our desires so that we no longer want to sin. Instead, we want to do the things that are pleasing to God. Which is another reason why this whole question, in a sense, is really moot. Once someone is saved, can they do anything they want, and sin all they want, and still be forgiven? Technically, yes. That’s what unconditional, unlimited grace means. But if someone is truly saved, then it won’t matter. [There’s a story about W.C. Fields, a famously irreligious man, who near the end of his life was visited by the actor Thomas Mitchell, who found him sitting up in bed reading the Bible. When his amazed friend asked what he was doing, he replied, "looking for loopholes".] But if someone know Christ, they won’t be looking for loopholes; they won’t be looking for ways to keep sinning without suffering the consequences. Their desire will be to follow and serve Christ. Their desire will be to do what pleases him, instead of what grieves him.
Will people abuse and misuse the doctrine of grace, using it as an excuse to indulge their own sinful desires? Of course. And on the day of judgment, those people will find out that the Christ they paid lip service to is a stranger to them; they will hear him say, "Away from me, you evildoers. I never knew you!" (Matthew 7:23). But that’s no reason for us not to teach, and preach, and rely on grace. Because for the Christian, the doctrine of grace isn’t just an interesting theological truth. It’s the source of our life, it’s the only thing that makes it possible for us to know God and be accepted by Him, it’s what opens the doors to heaven and eternal life, it’s how we find forgiveness. Without it, all we have is an empty legalism that ends in death.
Let me close with one last verse, one that summarizes what we’ve been talking about for the last three weeks. It maintains both the unconditional nature of God’s grace; the fact that works have nothing to do with gaining salvation, and it also reveals that good works are an inevitable consequence of true conversion:
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
– Ephesians 2:8-10 (NIV)
We weren’t saved because of our good works, but we were saved in order to do good works, motivated no longer by the fear of punishment, but by the love of our precious savior, Jesus Christ.
(For an .rtf file of this and other sermons, see www.journeychurchonline.org/messages.htm)
