"GROUNDED IN GRACE"

                                                   PART ONE 

                                                ROMANS 5:17

INTRODUCTION:

          GRACE CAN BE DEFINED AS THE FAVOR OR KINDNESS SHOWN WITHOUT REGARD TO THE WORTH OR MERIT OF THE ONE WHO RECEIVES IT AND IN SPITE OF WHAT THAT SAME PERSON DESERVES.

          GRACE IS ONE OF THE KEY ATTRIBUTES OF GOD.  THE LORD GOD IS "MERCIFUL AND GRACIOUS, LONGSUFFERING, AND ABOUNDING IN GOODNESS AND TRUTH" EXODUS 34:6.

          THEREFORE, GRACE IS ALMOST ALWAYS ASSOCIATED WITH MERCY, LOVE, COMPASSION, AND PATIENCE AS THE SOURCE OF HELP AND WITH DELIVERANCE FROM DISTRESS.

          THE GRACE OF GOD WAS SUPREMELY REVEALED AND GIVEN IN THE PERSON AND WORK OF JESUS CHRIST.  JESUS WAS NOT ONLY THE BENEFICIARY OF GOD'S GRACE, LUKE 2:40, BUT HE WAS ALSO ITS VERY EMBODIMENT, JOHN 1:14, BRINGING IT TO MANKIND FOR SALVATION, TITUS 2:11.

          BY HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION, JESUS RESTORED THE BROKEN FELLOWSHIP BETWEEN GOD AND HIS PEOPLE, BOTH JEW AND GENTILE.  THE ONLY WAY OF SALVATION FOR ANY PERSON IS "THROUGH THE GRACE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST" ACTS 15:11.

          THE GRACE OF GOD REVEALED IN JESUS CHRIST IS APPLIED TO HUMAN BEINGS FOR THEIR SALVATION BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHO IS CALLED "THE SPIRIT OF GRACE" HEBREWS 10:29.

          THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE ONE WHO BINDS CHRIST TO HIS PEOPLE SO THAT THEY RECEIVE FORGIVENESS, ADOPTION TO SONSHIP, AND NEWNESS OF LIFE, AS WELL AS EVERY SPIRITUAL GIFT OF GRACE, EPHESIANS 4:7.

          PAUL MAKES IT ABUNDANTLY CLEAR THAT SALVATION IS NOT SOMETHING THAT CAN BE EARNED OR MERITED; IT CAN BE RECEIVED ONLY AS A GIFT OF GRACE, ROMANS 4:4.

       GRACE, HOWEVER, MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY FAITH; A PERSON MUST TRUST IN THE MERCY AND FAVOR OF GOD, EVEN WHILE IT IS UNDESERVED, ROMANS 4:16.                                    

          1.  GROUNDED IN GRACE

ROMANS 5:17 "FOR IF BY ONE MAN'S OFFENCE DEATH REIGNED BY ONE; MUCH MORE THEY WHICH RECEIVE ABUNDANCE OF GRACE AND OF THE GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS SHALL REIGN IN LIFE BY ONE, JESUS CHRIST."

          GRACE IS SO GIGANTIC IT EXCEEDS OUR ABILITY TO MEASURE IT.     THE KEY WORD IN VERSE 17 IS "ABUNDANCE" OF GRACE.

          HOW MUCH IS THAT?

          DID I GET JUST ENOUGH TO GET BY AND THAT IS IT?

          DID I JUST GET A TEACUP FULL, A MEASURE OF GRACE?

          DID I GET JUST ENOUGH TO GET SAVED AND NO MORE?

          IS THAT ALL THE GRACE THAT GOD EXTENDED TO ME AND NOW AM I ON MY OWN?

          THIS VERSE DOES NOT SAY ANY OF THESE!     IT IS ABUNDANT!

          IT IS GIVEN WITHOUT A HITCH, WITHOUT STRINGS ATTACHED AND WITHOUT MEASUREMENT.

          GRACE KEEPS ON GIVING EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY, THROUGHOUT OUR ENTIRE LIVES.

ACTS 20:32 "AND NOW, BRETHREN, I COMMEND YOU TO GOD, AND TO THE WORD OF HIS GRACE, WHICH IS ABLE TO BUILD YOU UP, AND TO GIVE YOU AN INHERITANCE AMONG ALL THEM WHICH ARE SANCTIFIED."

          WHEN IS THE LAST TIME YOU HAVE HEARD A PREACHER COMMEND YOU TO THE GRACE OF GOD?      AND TELL YOU THAT THE WORD OF HIS GRACE IS ABLE TO BUILD YOU UP AND TO GIVE YOU THE INHERITANCE AMONG THOSE WHO ARE SANCTIFIED.

          AS YOU AND I WILL SEE TOGETHER, GRACE IS NOT A LIST OF RULES OR THINGS WE MUST DO OR NOT DO, BUT GRACE IS TO BUILD US UP AND TO SANCTIFY US, IT IS THE WORD

OF GRACE.

        2.  THE SECOND THING IN UNDERSTANDING GRACE IS TO DEFINE IT.

          GRACE IS FAVOR; IT IS WHEN YOU DON'T GET WHAT YOU DESERVE.  TRACING BACK TO ITS ROOT MEANING, WE FIND IT IS FAVOR, UNDESERVED AND UNMERITED.

          GOD ACTS COMPLETELY OUT OF HIS OWN WILL WITHOUT ANY THING ON OUR PART.

EPHESIANS 2:4-8, (4) "BUT GOD, WHO IS RICH IN MERCY, FOR HIS GREAT LOVE WHEREWITH HE LOVED US,"

(5) "EVEN WHEN WE WERE DEAD IN SINS, HATH QUICKENED US TOGETHER WITH CHRIST, (BY GRACE YE ARE SAVED);"

(6) "AND HATH RAISED US UP TOGETHER, AND MADE US SIT TOGETHER IN HEAVENLY PLACES IN CHRIST JESUS:"

(7) "THAT IN THE AGES TO COME HE MIGHT SHEW THE EXCEEDING RICHES OF HIS GRACE IN HIS KINDNESS TOWARD US THROUGH CHRIST JESUS."

(8) "FOR BY GRACE ARE YE SAVED THROUGH FAITH; AND THAT NOT OF YOURSELVES: IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD:"

          WHEN WE WERE SPIRITUALLY DEAD, NOT SICK, NOT IN GOOD SHAPE, NOT BECAUSE WE WERE ATTRACTIVE, BUT WHEN WE WERE DEAD IN OUR SINS, GOD ALONE, WEALTHY IN MERCY BY HIS VERY NATURE REACHED DOWN TO US AND MADE US ALIVE SPIRITUALLY BY IMPARTING THE LIFE OF CHRIST IN US.     THAT IS WHAT IS MEANT BY THE NEW BIRTH.

          WE WERE BORN FROM ABOVE INSTANTLY AND ONCE FOR ALL.     GOD MAY HAVE USED A POWERFUL PREACHER, A PRAYING PARENT, OR A TEARFUL TEACHER; BUT HE DID IT.

          HE DID IT WHEN WE TRUSTED CHRIST, NOT BECAUSE WE PRAYED SO EARNESTLY, REPENTED SO BITTERLY, OR RESOLVED SO THOROUGHLY.     SALVATION IS BY GRACE PLUS NOTHING!

          GOD GIVES; MAN RECEIVES!     GRACE IS WHAT GOD DOES FOR MAN!     SALVATION IS GOD'S GREATEST GIFT TO MAN!

          3. THE BIBLE IS FULL OF GRACE!

JOHN 1:14-17, (14) "AND THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH, AND DWELT AMONG US, (AND WE BEHELD HIS GLORY, THE GLORY AS OF THE ONLY BEGOTTEN OF THE FATHER,) FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH."

(15) "JOHN BARE WITNESS OF HIM, AND CRIED, SAYING, THIS WAS HE OF WHOM I SPAKE, HE THAT COMETH AFTER ME IS PREFERRED BEFORE ME: FOR HE WAS BEFORE ME."

(16) "AND OF HIS FULLNESS HAVE ALL WE RECEIVED, AND GRACE FOR GRACE."

(17) "FOR THE LAW WAS GIVEN BY MOSES, BUT GRACE AND TRUTH CAME BY JESUS CHRIST."

          THE ONE THING JOHN SAW ABOUT JESUS; "HE WAS FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH."

          RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS CRUEL GOVERNMENT, THE PIOUS RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY, THE CONDEMNING AND SELF-RIGHTEOUS RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY, HERE COMES JESUS AND WHAT DOES JOHN SAY ABOUT HIM, THAT HE WAS FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH.

          NOW, DO YOU KNOW HIM LIKE THAT?

          THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT PICTURES OF JESUS PRESENTED TO THE WORLD TODAY.     SOME HAVE A HELLISH VIEW OF HIM, WONDER WHY?     I CALL MANY OF THESE VIEWS AS RELIGIOUS VIEWS.     THE FACT IS THAT RELIGION WOULD NOT STAND FOR GRACE, THAT IS WHY THEY CRUCIFIED HIM!

         4.  GRACE IS TOTALLY FREE!

EPHESIANS 2:8-9, (8) "FOR BY GRACE ARE YE SAVED THROUGH FAITH AND THAT NOT OF YOURSELVES; IT IS THE GIFT IF GOD:"

(9) "NOT OF WORKS, LEST ANY MAN SHOULD BOAST."

          THE FACT IS THAT SALVATION IS BY GRACE ON GOD'S PART AND CONDITIONED ON FAITH IN MAN'S PART.     NOT THROUGH YOUR MERITS OR EFFORTS!     IT IS THE FREE GIFT OF GOD!

          RIGHTEOUSNESS COMES TO US FROM THE MERCY OF GOD ALONE!

          RIGHTEOUSNESS IS OFFERED TO US IN CHRIST BY THE GOSPEL!

          RIGHTEOUSNESS IS RECEIVED BY FAITH ALONE, WITHOUT THE MERITS OF WORK!

NOTE: THE GRACE OF GOD IS THE EXPRESSION OF HIS GOODNESS TOWARD THE UNDESERVING SINNER.     THIS GRACE IS THE BASIS OF OUR SALVATION.

          IN SALVATION, MEN AND WOMEN WHO DESERVE HELL OBTAIN HEAVEN.     THIS CANNOT BE EXPLAINED APART FROM GOD'S GRACE!     EVERY CONVERSION IS AN EXAMPLE OF GOD'S GRACE!

          SAVING FAITH IS PART OF HUMANITY'S RESPONSE TO GOD IN THE SALVATION EXPERIENCE.     IT IS AS SIMPLE AS PLACING ONE'S FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST FOR SALVATION,

JOHN 3:14-16.     TO BE SAVED A PERSON MUST TRUST CHRIST ALONE FOR THEIR SALVATION.

          MAN IS SAVED "BY GRACE" THAT IS, BY THE KINDNESS OF GOD IN HAVING JESUS DIE ON THE CROSS FOR OUR SINS.     BUT THIS GRACE IS APPROPRIATED "THROUGH FAITH", AND THAT TOO IS AN ACTION OF GOD ALONE.     THAT IS, MAN BELIEVES WHAT GOD HAS DONE FOR HIM AND RELIES UPON JESUS CHRIST'S ATONEMENT TO BLOT OUT HIS SINS AND BRING HIM INTO A PROPER RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.

          SALVATION IS OF GOD ALONE!  IT IS A GIFT OF GOD'S GRACE.

          5. GRACE IS FRIGHTENING!

ROMANS 8:1, 31-35, (1)"THERE IS THEREFORE NOW NO CONDEMNATION TO THEM WHICH ARE IN CHRIST JESUS, WHO WALK NOT AFTER THE FLESH, BUT AFTER THE SPIRIT."

(31) "WHAT SHALL WE THEN SAY TO THESE THINGS? IF GOD BE FOR US, WHO CAN BE AGAINST US?"

(32) "HE THAT SPARED NOT HIS OWN SON, BUT DELIVERED HIM UP FOR US ALL, HOW SHALL HE NOT WITH HIM ALSO FREELY GIVE US ALL THINGS?"

(33) "WHO SHALL LAY ANY THING TO THE CHARGE OF GOD'S ELECT? IT IS GOD THAT JUSTIFIETH."

(34) "WHO IS HE THAT CONDEMNETH? IT IS CHRIST THAT DIED, YEA RATHER, THAT IS RISEN AGAIN, WHO IS EVEN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, WHO ALSO MAKETH INTERCESSION FOR US."

(35) "WHO SHALL SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF CHRIST? SHALL TRIBULATION, OR DISTRESS, OR PERSECUTION, OR FAMINE, OR NAKEDNESS, OR PERIL, OR SWORD?"

          WHEN GRACE IS PREACHED, TAUGHT, OR UNDERSTOOD, IT CAN BE FRIGHTENING BECAUSE PEOPLE WILL TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS MESSAGE, BUT WE CANNOT COMPROMISE IT BECAUSE OF THIS.

          THESE VERSES ARE FRIGHTENING; THINK ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP THE BELIEVER HAS WITH GOD IN THIS THING CALLED GRACE.

          JUST THINK ABOUT THIS: WHAT WILL BE YOUR RESPONSE TO WHAT HAS BEEN SAID?

     * PAUL'S RESPONSE IS HE HAS COMPLETE ASSURANCE THAT THE ETERNAL PURPOSE OF GOD WILL COME TO FRUITION BECAUSE GOD IS GOD!

     * PAUL STATES THAT THERE IS NO ADVERSARY SO GREAT TO THWART THE ETERNAL PURPOSE OF GOD!

     * PAUL STATES THAT IF GOD DID NOT SPARE HIS OWN SON, BUT DELIVERED HIM UP TO THE CROSS OF CALVARY, THEN HE WILL BRING TO ITS COMPLETED END THE PURPOSE FOR WHICH CHRIST WAS SACRIFICED!

     * HENCE, ALL THE GIFTS AND BLESSINGS WHICH ACCOMPANY SALVATION ARE PROMISED TO US EVEN AS SALVATION IS OURS!

     * OUR ASSURANCE IN THE ETERNAL PRESENCE OF GOD IS BASED UPON THE UNFAILING LOVE OF GOD!

          GOD'S GRACE IS FRIGHTENING TO ALL THE FALSE RELIGIONS BEING SPREAD AROUND THE WORLD TODAY BECAUSE OF WHAT IT MEANS TO THE BORN-AGAIN BELIEVER.

          GRACE IS FRIGHTENING TO THE BELIEVER BECAUSE IT REQUIRES ABSOLUTE FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST; IT REQUIRES RIGHTEOUS LIVING; IT CARRIES THE RESPONSIBILITY TO SHARE THE GOSPEL WITH OTHERS.

          THE BELIEVER HAS THE RESPONSIBILITY TO COME TO SOME UNDERSTANDING OF GRACE THAT THEY MIGHT EXPERIENCE IT AND THEN ALLOW GOD TO EXPRESS IT THROUGH THEM.

          HOW MANY HAVE REALLY EXPERIENCED THE GRACE OF GOD OTHER THAN IN SALVATION?

          6. WHY STUDY GRACE?

         IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, I LIVED MOST OF MY LIFE UNDER THE WORLD (LAW) SYSTEM, A SYSTEM OF BLESSING AND CURSING. IT WORKED SOMETIME LIKE THIS; IF I FAILED THEN I WAS CONDEMNED, IF I SUCCEEDED THEN I WAS PRAISED.

          WHEN I FAILED AT LIFE I NOT ONLY FELT CONDEMNED, THERE WERE PLENTY SO CALLED "CHRISTIANS" AROUND WHO ADDED TO MY MISERY BY TELLING ME ALL THE THINGS I HAD PERFORMED WRONG. 

          I BEGAN TO TRUST IN MY WORKS OR PRINCIPLES RATHER THAN JESUS FOR MY LIFE.  AND I FOUND I COULD NOT EXPRESS WHAT I HAD NOT EXPERIENCED.

          GRACE DOES NOT SIZE PEOPLE, PREJUDGE THEM, AND CRITICIZE THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT WALKING WHERE YOU ARE.

          GRACE DOES NOT LOOK AT THE DIFFERENCE AND SAY MAN YOU NEED TO CHANGE.

          GRACE IS ACCEPTING AND BUILDING UP IN THE FAITH.  IT DOES NOT CLASSIFY OR CATEGORIZE PEOPLE.

          THEN THE FOLLOWING QUESTION FILLED MY MIND.

          HOW DO I EXPERIENCE GRACE?

          IT IS REAL HARD, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS RECEIVE IT!

           I SPENT MOST OF MY LIFE TRYING TO ACHIEVE A STANDING, AND ALL I HAD TO DO WAS RECEIVE HIS GRACE.

          LOOK AT THE PROCESS IN PAUL'S LIFE:

      * PAUL FOUND OUT ABOUT GOD'S GRACE, 1ST TIMOTHY 1:12-17.

     * PAUL HAD AN UNDERSTANDING OF IT AND BEGAN TO EXPERIENCE IT AND EXPRESS IT,

1ST CORINTHIANS.

     * PAUL BEGAN TO EQUIP OTHERS IN THIS MESSAGE OF GRACE, GALATIANS 2:1-5.

          WHAT DO YOU THINK MIGHT HAPPEN TO YOU AND ME IF WE UNDERSTOOD GOD'S GRACE, EXPERIENCED GRACE, AND BEGAN TO ALLOW GOD TO EXPRESS GRACE TO OTHERS AND EQUIP OTHERS IN THIS MESSAGE OF GOD'S GRACE?

     AMEN!