Sola Gratia

B. Grace is the Necessary Antidote for man’s fateful condition.

1.Man has a fateful, terminal condition, however, there is in fact an antidote.

a. Illust: For the most part don’t have to worry about snake bites in Iowa. Back in SC, a different story. Bites by venomous snakes can cause severe paralysis that may prevent breathing; bleeding disorders that can lead to fatal hemorrhage; irreversible kidney failure; and severe local tissue destruction that can cause permanent disability and may result in limb amputation. A knowledge of which species of venomous snakes present the greatest risks to human populations in any particular region or country is essential to addressing snakebite problems. If venom from the wrong species is selected, the antivenin produced may not be effective against the effects of bites by specific snakes. Some people still ask: “Why did God have to come to earth as a man in the Son, Jesus Christ?” Well, a specific antivenin of the bite of sin and death had to be created and employed. That’s why Christ, though fully God, also had to become Christ, fully man!

b. Many people have a confused understanding about the concept of grace. Grace, as displayed in the Bible is not then an impersonal energy automatically switched on by prayer or the sacraments, but it is rather the heart and hand of the living, Almighty God. (Packer, p.95).

2. Salvation by Grace eliminates any middle ground of salvation.

a. Illust: Theological liberals have always emphasized God’s love and denied His wrath. But in our day, this kind of watered down thinking is not only in liberal circles. It is also popular among those who profess to be evangelicals. Several years ago, the TV show, “60 Minutes,” did a segment on Joel Osteen, pastor of America’s largest church and author of the best seller, Your Best Life Now [Warner Faith]. Host Byron Pitts was surprised at the absence of any mention of God or Jesus Christ in the main points of Osteen’s latest book, To Become a Better You, which was just released last week. Osteen’s response was, “That’s just my message. There is scripture in there that backs it all up. But I feel like, Byron, I’m called to help people…how do we walk out the Christian life? How do we live it? And these are principles that can help you. I mean, there’s a lot better people qualified to say, ‘Here’s a book that going to explain the scriptures to you.’ I don’t think that’s my gifting.” He got that right! But then why is he a pastor? How can you genuinely help lost people if you don’t point them to the cross of Christ?

b. Pitts got Michael Horton’s take on this. Horton is a professor of theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Escondido, California. Horton rightly observed: “[Osteen’s] core message is God is nice, you’re nice, be nice….” (The above taken from, http://psalm8611.blogspot.com.) The point is, if we are not under God’s wrath, then Jesus didn’t need to go to the cross and we don’t need to be saved. By going to the cross, Jesus paid the penalty that we are under because of our sin. Paul here says, “For by grace you have been saved….” Either you have been saved or you haven’t. There is no middle ground. Either Jesus has rescued you from God’s wrath or you are not saved. The key word to understand is“grace.”