The Truth About Grace

The Truth About Grace

Scripture: Romans 1:17-18; Titus 2:11-12; Ephesians 3:20; Hebrews 13:9

When Paul opened his letter to the Christians in Rome, he wrote, “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.’” (Romans 1:17) In this statement he makes it known that God’s righteousness is revealed in the gospel on the ground of faith as the absolute condition of salvation and is only effective in those who believe. So he says “…in the righteousness of God is from faith to faith.” As we grow and continue in faith, more and more of God’s righteousness is revealed. But listen to what he said following this statement in verses 18-19. “(18) For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, (19) because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.” (Romans 1:18-19) He said that God has also revealed His wrath against all of the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. God’s feelings towards sin are not hidden and are not a mystery for He has revealed it to mankind. Now this is what I want you to take note of: Paul said the men doing the ungodly and unrighteous things “suppress the truth in unrighteousness…”

New Light, Paul is talking about people who profess to be Christians. He said that when we attempt to justify the wrongs that we do what we are really doing is suppressing the truth concerning what the Bible says about sin. In other words, we hold down, suppress, imprison, and bridle the truth when it interferes with our desire to sin. Paul said we suppress the truth in our unrighteousness because “what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.” God has shown us a lie that justifies how we are living. Paul spends the rest of the opening chapter of the book of Romans giving us examples of how the unrighteousness of men – the unrighteousness of Christians – was suppressing the truth in the Church at Rome.

New Light, the title of the message this morning is “The Truth About Grace.” The passages that we just read in Romans provide the launching point for the message this morning. What we are going to see this morning is what the Spirit says about grace and what grace truly does because of how it has been distorted in the Church. As it is currently taught, the purpose of grace allows us to justify, continue in, distort, and celebrate sin as an inherent weakness Christians that cannot overcome, and therefore is covered under grace. This is not what grace does, actually it’s the opposite.

Let me share a few statements that we make in the Church about grace that are simply not truth. These statements, because they are believed and accepted as truth, are great examples of how we “suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18). I am sure all of you have heard the statement “I am a sinner saved by grace.” I am sure you have also heard the companion statement, “Grace covers a multitude of sins, or my sins are covered by God’s grace.” Then there are the “grace” statements that we say in our efforts to explain why something may or may not have happened. “By the grace of God I survived such and such. By the grace of God I am what I am. By the grace of God I got the job over all of the other candidates. By the grace of God; by the grace of God, by the grace of God!!!” I want you to know that, while some of these statements sound spiritual and sound true, they are not, especially the ones that justify our continuing in sin. The grace of God has great power, but to the surprise of some and contrary to what many teach in the Church, GRACE DOES NOT COVER SIN!!! New Light, the Bible does not teach this. Christians who continue to sin, believing that grace is covering them, are suppressing the truth in their unrighteousness, and are slowly walking away from God into an eternity in hell. You see, the problem is we rely on what we hear from the pulpit versus going to God’s Word and reading it for ourselves. We cannot continue to do this. So, if grace is not covering all of my sins, then what is grace doing? What is the purpose of grace? What is the truth about grace? Well, let’s go to the Word and find out.

In order to understand the purpose of grace, we must know what it is and what it is not. So, let’s define grace according to its use in Scripture. The Hebrew word for grace is “chen” and it means, “kindness, favor, precious or acceptance.” The Greek word for grace is “charis” and it means “the divine influence upon the heart and its reflection in life.” Grace marks the difference between believers and unbelievers. When we examine the Greek word for grace, it denotes God doing something upon the heart which becomes evident in how we live. People tend to confuse grace and mercy. Grace is not mercy. Briefly, if we sin and repent of that sin, God extends to us mercy instead of executing on us the judgment for that sin. But the key to receiving His mercy is to have a repentant heart. Now, let’s talk about what grace does. Turn with me to Ephesians 2:8-9.