Grateful For Grace
Introduction
I do not know how often most of you have thought about the importance of God’s grace in your life, however, lately, God is bringing me to the realization that God’s grace is the foundation stone upon which His plan for the ages rests. God’s plan is for the ultimate purpose of His glory, and His grace is the ultimate power of His plan.
Maybe we should define grace, so that we might fully understand our subject. Someone has developed an acrostic on the word grace, which defines it as, God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. That definition speaks not merely of salvation, but the sum total of God’s dealings with us. It was through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross that God was able to show us His favor in every area of life.
One of my Bible college professors once defined grace as, “God’s unmerited favor in behalf of sinful and undeserving man.” This definition dovetails with the first definition of grace. Grace is simply a benefit received from another in spite of the meritless condition of the receiver.
Folks, the salvation of a lost soul is a magnificent display of God’s grace. There is no doubt about it. Nevertheless, let us be quick to remember that everything this side of the grave is grace. Every breath you breathe is by grace. Every bite of food you put in your mouth is by God’s grace. Every step you take is by grace.
It is certainly befitting that our nation has set aside one day each year to give thanks for the abundant blessings bestowed upon us. This nation has overwhelmingly been the recipient of God’s grace. It is my prayer that our nation will never forget that fact.
I want to examine some specific areas of God’s grace today. May we become so mindful of God’s goodness that we give Him thanks daily, and not merely once a year.
Theme: Let us be thankful today for…
I. THE GRACE that has SAVED US
A. Grace is God’s Means of Redemption for Man.
1. God’s grace sent the Son of God to die for us.
Isa. 53:4 “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
2. God’s grace drew us.
John 6:44a “No man can come to me, except the Father which sent me draw him…”
Rom. 2:4b “…the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance.”
3. God’s grace caused faith to develop in us.
Eph. 1:7 “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;”
Eph. 2:8 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
B. Grace is God’s Means of Rescuing Man in Mercy.
1. Our condition was one of corruption.
Isa. 64:6a “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags…”
Jer. 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
2. Our condemnation was a foregone conclusion.
Ezek. 18:20a “The soul that sinneth, it shall die…”
Rom. 6:23a “For the wages of sin is death…”
3. God’s compassion was extended to all who by faith trusted Christ.
I Tim. 2:5 “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
6a Who gave himself a ransom for all…”
I Pet. 3:18 “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:”
The fact is folks; you and I had nothing to offer God for our salvation. Richard Baxter explains it pretty plainly when he says:
As we paid nothing for God’s eternal love and nothing for the Son of His love, and nothing for His Spirit and our grace and faith, and nothing for our eternal rest...What an astonishing thought it will be to think of the unmeasurable difference between our deservings and our receivings. O, how free was all this love, and how free is this enjoyed glory...So then let “Deserved” be written on the floor of hell but [not] the door of heaven and life.[1]
II. THE GRACE that has SECURED US
A. Grace has Secured Us from Sin’s Curse.
1. Sin cannot control us.
Rom. 6:6 “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.”
2. Sin cannot condemn us.
Rom. 5:1 “Therefore being justified (“to be given a right standing”) by faith, we have peace (“the cessation of hostility”) with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Rom. 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
B. Grace has Secured Us in Christ.
John 10:28 “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.”
Our eternal security does not rest with us, but with our heavenly Father.
A group of botanists went on an expedition into a hard-to-reach location in the Alps, searching for new varieties of flowers.
One day as a scientist looked through his binoculars, he saw a beautiful, rare species growing at the bottom of a deep ravine. To reach it, someone would have to be lowered into that gorge. Noticing a local youngster standing nearby, the man asked him if he would help them get the flower. The boy was told that a rope would be tied around his waist and the men would then lower him to the floor of the canyon.
Excited, yet apprehensive about the adventure, the youngster peered thoughtfully into the chasm. “Wait,” he said, “I’ll be back,” and off he dashed. When he returned, he was accompanied by an older man. Approaching the head botanist, the boy said, “I’ll go over the cliff now and get the flower for you, but this man must hold onto the rope. He’s my dad!”[2]
C. Grace Has Secured Our Eternal Comfort.
John 14:2 “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
Rev. 21:4 “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
III. THE GRACE that has SUSTAINED US
A. We are Sustained in Times of Physical Distress.
2 Cor. 12:9 “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
Ps. 50:15 “And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.”
Have you been tested lately?
The vines that sometimes grow up the side of oak trees cling to them during the fiercest storms. Although the wind beats upon them, the tendrils hold tightly to the tree's bark. If the vine is on the side opposite the wind, the great oak is its protection, if it's on the exposed side; the wind presses the vine more closely to it.
As Christians, we are sometimes sheltered by God, while other times He allows us to be exposed, so we will be pressed more closely to Him. After years of faithfulness, some Christians suddenly find themselves greatly tested and in deep distress—seemingly without reason. They are subjected to terrific battles with doubts, fears, and unbelief. Doesn't God care how much they suffer? Of course He does. But He has a special purpose in withholding immediate relief.[3]
B. We are Sustained in Times of Physical Deprivation.
Phil. 4:19 “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
Ps. 37:25 “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.”
C. We are Sustained in Times of Physical Danger.
Ps. 34:7 “The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.”
Ps. 56:3 “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.”
Ps. 34:15 “The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.”
A recent event in the life of one of our extended church families will help to solidify my point:
Saturday at about 2:30 a.m., Wade Hawkins, Jr. and his family were sleeping peacefully in their home when a tornado struck. Ogie, as he is commonly called, and his younger son, were sleeping in the master bedroom. His wife had fallen asleep on the couch in the living room, while his eight-year-old son was asleep in the middle bedroom.
Ogie told me that he awoke just enough to hear a loud, violent roar. He had a split second to realize that this was not a dream and to drape himself over his five-year-old’s body. He said that one second the house was there, and the next it was gone. Nothing was left but the bare concrete slab.
Somehow (and we know how), Ogie, his wife, and younger son had survived the violent storm. However, for about an hour, the older son could not be found. He was found later a few hundred yards away from the house in a rice field, battered, scared and crying, but okay. The Hawkins family was the recipients of God’s grace.[4]
[1] Richard Baxter (1615-1691), The Free Gift.
[2] Our Daily Bread.
[3] Pastor Life.com, Dr. B. Pate, editor.
[4] Rev. Donnie L. Martin, actual account of storm during November 24, 2001.