Introduction
“I cry out to God seeking only his decision, Gabriel stands and confirms, I've created my own prison” (Scott Strapp & Mark Tremoti, “My Own Prison,” Wind-up Records, released August 26, 1997). Truth is truth: or as the wise man said, “He who speaks truth tells what is right.” Paul remains us, “Finally, brethren, whatever is true…if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things” (Proverbs 12:17; Philippians 4:8). And I can think of no other words, than those quoted from the above song, which better expresses the hopelessness of all who exist and eventually die outside of the salvation of my LORD.
While I don’t know if the authors of the song are saved—don’t ever take for granted one’s eternal destiny—what is astonishing is they recognized the utter doom of their current circumstance and are honest enough to admit it is through their own doing. In listening to the song one can sense the dual dread that is always associated with knowing you have offended GOD and you will be judged by GOD. Sadly, because Satan “the god of this world has blinded” most “so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:4), many will continue in their current state of eternal ruin and never find escape.
This is an especially sad, even heart wrenching (though true), commentary when you stop to consider that the greatest words ever spoke to humanity are: “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
Onward Christian Soldiers…
But can anyone ever: “Call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher” (Romans 10:14)?
God has answered all these questions in you; if you are in fact a believer in the salvation offered through Christ. For Jesus commands that we: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation;” “and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that [He] commanded [us].” Additionally, Jesus says, “[We are His] witnesses;” and “as the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:19, 20; Luke 24:48; John 20:21). Paul confirms this command in his exhortation to Timothy: He says, “Do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Timothy 4:5).
There is an unfinished ministry of Christ to the world. And it is none other than you, the individual member of the Body of Christ, whom the LORD has delegated this commission: to carry the message of His salvation to all that are lost and in a state of eternal death.
The Almighty Working Of GOD’s Power
Scripture discloses the fact that GOD puts forth more of His power and resources into the salvation of the individual sinner than His power and resources were taxed in the creation of the entire material universe. Not that GOD’s power can ever be limited, but in salvation GOD extremely exerts His almighty power to the extent that He spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up as a sacrifice for all. He could do no more.
The word “salvation” carries more than the meaning of saving the unbelieving sinner from the penalty and condemnation of sin. Its extends to the deliverance of believers from the present power of sin and includes a whole series of other great doctrines and revelations—such as election, redemption, reconciliation, propitiation, forgiveness, regeneration, imputation, justification, sanctification, perfection and final glorification—in which the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are seen working towards transforming the believer into the heavenly glory of the “image of Christ.”
You should be eager to learn about these doctrinal truths. But for expediency let us focus on grace—the exact meaning of the word grace—and its Divine workings, as revealed in the Bible. This must be crystal clear to every child of GOD, for it is the sine quo non (Google this phase if you don't know what it means) of my LORD’s endeavor to save.
Definition Of Grace
The grace of GOD is both the cause (Acts 4:12) of and the purpose in (Romans 9:23; Ephesians 2:7; 3:8-10; John 3:16; Ephesians 2:10) salvation. Salvation cannot be effectuated in any other way; that is to say, GOD saves because of His grace and His purpose in saving souls is to display His grace. But grace reaches far beyond this in that it indicates the supreme motive, which actuated GOD in the creation, preservation and consummation of the universe: that is, what He did and is doing is for His Glory (Isaiah 43:7).
Nevertheless grace is the boundless goodness and kindness of GOD toward mankind (Titus 3:4). Grace means pure unrecompensed kindness and favor (Romans 6:23). What is done in grace is done graciously—you cannot earn grace and you cannot purchase it—therefore, it is given as a gift that is to be received. From this exact meaning there can be no departure; otherwise grace ceases to be grace.
Consider this: GOD created because of His grace. Before time, while in eternity, GOD had full knowledge of the fall—before He created—but so too Christ’s sacrifice “was foreknown [by GOD] before the foundation of the world.” To this end “God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer” and “at the right time Christ died for the ungodly” (1 Peter 1:20; Acts 3:8; Romans 5:6). Furthermore, “He chose us in [Christ] before the foundation of the world…He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself…to the praise of the glory of His grace…In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us” (Ephesians 1:4-8).
Based on the afore mentioned reasons GOD preserves the creation in grace. In spite of the fall He safeguards creation: “In him all things hold together;” “He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” He restrains sin (cf., 2 Thessalonians 2:7) in “kindness and tolerance and patience.” Therefore, He permits sin, because “the kindness of God leads” to repentance. And most of all, for the love of the sinner: “The Lord is…not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (Colossians 1:17; Matthew 5:45; Romans 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9).
GOD’s display of His glory in grace will come full circle in this cosmos: “The Lord” comes “like a thief;” then the “heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.” “But according to His promise we are looking for a new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:10-13). And this too will exist by His grace.
Understanding GOD’s grace enables the believer to clearly pass on to others, believer and unbeliever alike, His marvelous transforming handiwork (Colossians 4:6; 1 Peter 3:15). Insight into its meaning feeds the believer’s life with its inexhaustible riches (Ephesians 1:8), which are limitless (Hebrews 13:20, 21, Ephesians 1:7) since it represents realities of GOD, which are boundless. GOD’s grace proves to all nothing less than His eternal, infinite charity for fallen humanity (1 John 4:7-10).
Fundamentals of Grace
God grace is never withheld because of human failure (Romans 5:19-20). This fact about grace is more evident, perhaps, than any other in that a sinner—when he comes to his senses—knows he can cry out for the kindness and benefits of grace (Romans 3:4). But this is according to GOD’s desire as grace finds its greatest triumph and glory in human helplessness (Matthew 5:3-11).
There is no middle ground (Galatians 2:16)—grace is not ever lessened because of human failure (1 Timothy 1:13-15)—all questions of human failure have been banished as a result of the Cross, thus allowing GOD to righteously and freely exercise grace in every case where salvation is concern. With regard to the unbeliever, GOD’s full and equal exercise of His grace is extended to all (1 John 4:15), because Christ died for “whoever believes.” It never falls short of being the measureless saving grace of GOD (Romans 1:16); it is always the infinite expression of His love. It is ludicrous to assume that mere men can impose limits upon the gracious action of salvation by a righteous and completely sovereign (i.e., answerable to no one) GOD.
Therefore, grace, because it is a gift, cannot be exercised where there is the slightest degree of human merit to be recognized (Romans 11:6). It is Christ, the Lamb of GOD, who has taken away the sin of the world by His Cross, forever disposing the condemnation of sin. By the Cross He creates an entirely new relationship between GOD and man—“He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. Consequently, men are now either accepting (John 20:31) or rejecting Christ who has borne their sins (John 8:24).
However, GOD does not ignore or slight the fact of human guilt and sin (Colossians 3:5-7); instead, He has met these issues perfectly and finally for all men in the death and resurrection of His Son. By grace there is now offered to all men the infinite resources of the saving power of GOD (1 Corinthians 1:18). However, while grace is exercised in perfect independence of any degree of human sin, a righteous accounting for sin is invariable determined for all who rejects GOD’s sacrifice of the Son and those who come to believe in the Sacrifice will suffer lost for the personal sins committed in their lifetime. However, the salvation of anyone once saved cannot be lost for any reason (John 17:20-26).
The Apostle John reminds us: “not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10); and quotes Jesus as saying, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent” (John 6:29).
And speaking to the believer Paul emphasizes the fact that “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10.)
Grace must always remain unadulterated in its generosity and benefit (Romans 11:6). There are infinite and eternal transformations wrought by the power of GOD when He exercises His grace and the results are: He is glorified (John 12:28; 13:31; 13:32); and sinners are saved. But by no means does the sinner pay or make the slightest restitution for his salvation and GOD makes no demand for payment. The act of grace is in no sense gracious if under any conditions a debt is incurred by man (John 10:28; Romans 6:23). What GOD has bestowed is a gift and it cannot rightly be called that if it is paid for either before or at the time or long after it is given (Romans 4:2-16).
Finally, grace is never a reward or payment for good works (Romans 9:10-16). There is not the least possibility that a Divine obligation exist toward anyone—God owes no one anything—and this in spite of the fact that some teach that those who are saved are so because GOD “foreknew” the good works they would do. Preposterous! All are sinners both by nature and by practice and the unbeliever would remain in rebellion towards GOD unless He draws them to believe that Jesus is their Savior (2 Thessalonians 2:13). To think that GOD saves because He knows of future good works to be done destroys the definition and all the characteristics of grace (Romans 4:4). But I will not go further into this subject as it is the cause of deep disagreement, sometimes to the point of violence in the Body of Christ; you will need to study the Word and come to your own Spirit-led conclusion.
Conclusion
In summary, the word "grace" represents the uncompromised, unrestricted, unrecompensed, loving favor of GOD toward sinners. It is the limitless, unrestrained love of GOD for the lost acting in full compliance with the exact and unchangeable demands of His own righteousness through the sacrificial death of Christ. It is more than love; it is love set absolutely free to satisfy the righteous judgment of GOD against the condemned sinner.
It is an unearned blessing of His infinite love to all humanity; through the death and resurrection of His Lamb; through whom He offers salvation as a gift; without human obligation or any consideration of human merit. Just believe this and it will be so.
But why, you ask, should anyone believe that a condemned rebel of the Roman Empire is their Savior? It is because this truth is engraved in every human heart: whether Islamist, Hindu-ist, Buddhist, humanist, atheist or any other "ist," this truth is present. Your ministry is not to convince anyone that this is the truth (this is the ministry of the Holy Spirit). Your mission is to tell them this is the truth!
It is an unearned blessing of His infinite love to all humanity; through the death and resurrection of His Lamb; through whom He offers salvation as a gift; without human obligation or any consideration of human merit. Just believe this and it will be so.
But why, you ask, should anyone believe that a condemned rebel of the Roman Empire is their Savior? It is because this truth is engraved in every human heart: whether Islamist, Hindu-ist, Buddhist, humanist, atheist or any other "ist," this truth is present. Your ministry is not to convince anyone that this is the truth (this is the ministry of the Holy Spirit). Your mission is to tell them this is the truth!
This has been merely a concise explanation of grace, which is the key to salvation, but as it is with the works of Jesus so it is with grace: “If they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written” (John 21:25). But hopefully, in spite of the limited information given today, your compassion for the lost will take control of your motives in the understanding that there is an unfinished work of Christ in the world that Christians are called to act upon.