The True Grace of God (Part I)

WHAT IS GRACE?

First of all let us read from God's eternal Word. Ephesians 2:8, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God."

Romans 4:3-8, "For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him who justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin."

Romans 3:24-28, "Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, at this time His righteousness: that He might be just, and the justifier of him who believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law."

Romans 5:1, "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

We must at the beginning discover what GRACE is.

It is God's boundless love at work in man's behalf, being favorable toward man who is utterly undeserving. Man is bankrupt, without strength, without help, without hope, without life, completely undone. Only the God whom he has offended can help him.

Law is helpless in that it is weak because of the inability of natural man to obey the law of God. The law can but condemn. It can never put away sin, nor cleanse the sinner, nor make him righteous; therefore can never justify him.

John 1:17, "the Law was given by Moses, Grace and Truth came by Jesus Christ." The Law, though good, was not able to redeem the sinner from his lost estate. Romans 10:4, "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believeth."

WHAT DOES GRACE DO?

It justifies the sinner. Acts 13:39, "And by Him all who believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses."

JUSTIFIED—what a tremendous statement! Justification is a legal term. To justify a person does not MAKE him righteous, but it DECLARES him so to be. Justification is in contradistinction to condemnation.

Condemnation recognizes a man's guilt. To judge a man guilty and condemn him, does not MAKE him an offender, it recognizes the fact that he IS guilty.

Justification recognizes a man's innocence. Job asks in Job 9:2, "How should a man be just with God?" How can he? This is an impossible situation as far as man is concerned. How can God, a just Judge, declare a man righteous who is guilty?

You who are unsaved, are you insensible to your position before God? John 3:18 states the unsaved to be "condemned already." You cannot object, for have you not trampled His authority under your feet? Have you not cherished a spirit of enmity against Him? Does not your conscience testify that you have neither obeyed His laws, nor cared whether He was pleased or offended? Have you not rather gratified your own desires, and sought your own pleasures? The death of God's Son you have deemed unworthy of your consideration, though it was the greatest act of God in your behalf, and the only means of your escape from certain condemnation and destruction.

Romans 8:33, "It is God who justifieth." To JUSTIFY the sinner is a Divine prerogative, yet not arbitrarily, for then God would condone sin, and so would be a party with man in his sin. God would then cease to be Holy; He then would no longer be God; Satan would be supreme.

Let us ask three questions, and answer them. (1) Whom does God justify? (2) How can God justify a sinner? (3) How can I, a sinner, receive this justification?

Question 1. Whom does God justify? The sinner—the ungodly! Romans 4:5, "To him who worketh not, but believeth on Him who justifieth—the righteous? the holy? the pious? NO!—the UNGODLY." Jesus said, "I came not to call the righteous, (there are none, only some think they are) but sinners to repentance." My friend, your best recommendation to God is not your goodness, neither your promise to be good, nor your striving to be good, but the fact that you are a SINNER. Acknowledge it.

Your unworthiness, your utter destitution of any merit, the hopelessness of ever attaining any, leaves you a candidate for God's mercy, and should cause you to claim the benefit of justification by grace through faith.

Question 2. How can God justify the sinner? Romans 3:24, "Being justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." These words, FREELY BY GRACE, assuredly prove that justification is entirely free. GRACE unmixed with any other requirement, such as any human worthiness. Freely—means "without cause," or without any human merit.

So we read in Romans 5:21, "As sin hath reigned (as king) unto death, even so might GRACE reign (as king) through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord." And, Ephesians 2:8, "For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God."

Now let us consider what this means from God's side. For God to honorably acquit and accept as righteous before the Divine tribunal a guilty sinner, was His problem.

His immaculate holiness and strict justice demand that He can acquit none apart from a complete righteousness, for to do so would not be according to truth; it would be a false and unrighteous sentence.

The only condition of our acceptance with God, is a perfect righteousness. The righteousness by which we are to be justified must be perfect.

God's demand for righteousness cannot be lightly esteemed on our part, nor will it be set aside by Him. His law will not be abrogated, and because of His very nature, He is absolutely inflexible with regard to his law.

Man cannot give a ransom for his soul; nor can he by taking much soap or nitre effect a cleansing from his sin.

None have kept God's law, Romans 3:10, "There is none righteous, no, not one." Romans 3:19, "All the world is become guilty before God." Therefore the law cannot justify, acquit, liberate, or clear us of guilt. Neither can the law impart life, or righteousness.

Many years ago in France, a man was apprehended for a crime, worthy of death if positive guilt could be proved. Circumstantial evidence was very strong against him, though he constantly affirmed that he was entirely innocent of the crime; but sentence was passed upon him because of the strength of the circumstantial evidence, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment in the Bastille, though no positive proof could be obtained.

For twenty years he languished in the Bastille, all the time declaring his innocence.

After the twenty years, another man, upon his death-bed confessed to his guilt of the crime.

The Premier of France immediately sent a pardon to the man in the Bastille. However he refused the pardon, saying, "How can I be pardoned for a crime that I did not commit?" His friends immediately arranged for a retrial.

He was therefore brought before the tribunal, and when the court was brought to order and the man brought before the judge, the judge asked as to the accusation against the man.

The prosecuting attorney had nothing to offer; those in the court room were asked as to why the man was brought in, but no one had any accusation to make. The Judge therefore said to the man, "Sir, you are acquitted, there is no sentence standing against you. You may go free!"

That man walked out of the Hall of Justice, not a pardoned criminal, but a man who had not broken the law of France. He was JUSTIFIED. He was declared a righteous man.

And so it is before God, a man must be righteous to be acquitted, that is, justified or declared righteous.

The inexorable Law of God demands a perfect righteousness, yet there is no justification by obedience to the Law of God, or any other law.

Romans 3:20, "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight." Galatians 2:16, "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."

The curse of a broken law rests on mankind. God's verdict is, "Condemned already." DEATH!—eternal banishment from God is the sentence. Nothing less. Perfect obedience, perfect righteousness is demanded; that is impossible to man.

How then can God JUSTIFY a SINNER? Praise God, He found a way. By EXCHANGE—by SUBSTITUTION.

The Lord Jesus Christ, the perfectly righteous One, became our substitute.

Romans 10:4, "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness." Romans 5:19, "By the obedience of One (Jesus) shall many be made righteous." II Corinthians 5:21, "For He (the Father) hath made Him (Jesus, the Son) to be SIN for us, Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him."

Jesus became the thing that God abhorred and hated, and was cursed on the cross. He took our nature, our sin, our guilt, our punishment. So we are free. Believe it!

When we believe—receive Him; we receive in exchange for our sin, the gift of righteousness, nothing less than the righteousness of God. So, we receive a substitute righteousness which is perfect.

But you say Adam was perfect, yet sinned. Will not this righteousness which is imparted to us, be marred by sin? No! for this righteousness, (now ours) has been tested and proved in the person of Jesus Christ.

The righteousness is not imparted to us. This will not change, it cannot be sullied, it is not dependent upon our righteous living, but only upon FAITH in the efficacy of the vicarious sacrifice God offered on Calvary.

Question 3. How can I, a sinner, accept or receive this righteousness, and be justified? In the same manner that one receives any gift. For remember, God's righteousness is a gift to be received. God requires two steps on our part. Acts 20:21, "REPENTANCE toward God and FAITH toward our Lord Jesus Christ."

REPENTANCE is more than sorrow for sin—that is contrition. It is more than trying to quit sin—that would be only self-reformation, even if that were possible. Repentance is not a negative attitude, but a very positive act; that is, it is turning TO GOD. A soldier caught the true significance of repentance when he gave his answer to the question in a soldier's language: "HALT! RIGHT FACE! ABOUT FACE! QUICK MARCH!" That's it! It is positive. A full surrender of the Will and Life to God, automatically turning one's back on sin and renouncing it.

FAITH IN OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. Notice this is faith in a PERSON; not in an organization, no matter how good; and not in just any person, but in just ONE—JESUS! for God's Word declares, "There is none other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved."

Let me illustrate FAITH. To get home I must cross a 20 foot deep swift stream, but how? I cannot jump that far; it is too deep to wade; there is no bridge in sight; but soon I spy a plank that spans the stream. I say, "I believe that plank will hold me." Is that faith? No, that is supposition, for it might be rotten and break under my weight. So I pick up the end of the plank and find it sound. I say to myself, "I know that it will bear me over." Is that faith? Again no! That is given mental assent to its ability to bear my weight. The question is, how can I get across? I must actually walk on the plank, trusting my whole weight on it, depending on its strength. Just so, FAITH in Christ Jesus is not alone being assured in your mind that He is able to save you; that is only mental assent. You must put your whole dependence upon the efficacy of His substitutionary sacrifice, effected on Calvary, when He died as your substitute. You must give the consent of your will.