I am a Grace person. I believe in the Grace of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love hearing about grace and discussing grace with others. However the message of grace has obtained a somewhat bad reputation, partly because of some wrong ideas and wrong beliefs, and also as a result of some people using God’s grace as an excuse to live wrongly. These things have tarnished the wonderful work that God has done and stopped many people from receiving the free gift which Jesus came to give us.
Today we will be examining the truth of the Grace of God; the real message of grace, and we will also be exposing the wrong beliefs about grace, so that we can fully see the truth and appreciate what Jesus has really done for us.
The most important thing that we must see right up-front is that Grace is not a doctrine. There are those that react to the message of grace as if it were a doctrine or some type of false teaching, philosophy or method. Grace is not any of these things – grace is a person, grace is Jesus Christ. When you touch Jesus, you touch grace (among many other things), and the two can not be separated. I want to emphasize this point strongly because there are people in the world today who try to divide Jesus from Grace, and there are others who try to divide Grace from Jesus, and either way both are wrong and the end of it will lead to error and destruction. Some people preach a Jesus who is harsh, angry and cold, more interested in judging than forgiving (removing grace from Jesus), and then there are others who preach that grace means all sin is forgiven so that people can live in sin and just cover the sin because of grace (removing Jesus from grace). And these are the people who live callous lifestyles and give grace and believers everywhere a bad name.
The truth my friends, is that Jesus and grace are one and the same and neither one can be separated from the other. You can not remove grace from Jesus, nor can you remove the forgiveness of sins from the forgiver (Jesus). Those who attempt to do that are the ones who are living lives of sin while proclaiming “No big deal, I’m forgiven”. Yet it is interesting to note that Jesus Himself has something to say on this issue in Luke 7:40-48:
“And Jesus answering said to him, Simon, I have somewhat to say to you. And he said, Master, say on.
There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.
And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?
Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said to him, You have rightly judged.
And he turned to the woman, and said to Simon, See you this woman? I entered into your house, you gave me no water for my feet: but she has washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.
You gave me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in has not ceased to kiss my feet.
My head with oil you did not anoint: but this woman has anointed my feet with ointment.
Why I say to you, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.
And he said to her, Your sins are forgiven.”
Jesus teaches us here in this story that those who are forgiven much love much. That is the moral and lesson of the story told here by Jesus. So with this lesson, the theory that grace causes people to live a self-centered and lascivious lifestyle is destroyed, because those who are forgiven much will in-turn love Jesus much, and when we love Jesus much, we will honor Him with our lives. In-fact, it is those who have a weak sense of Jesus in their lives where His presence and His grace is not strong who live a life that does not glorify or honor Him. It’s when people separate the forgiveness from the person of Jesus that their sense of the LORD is not strong, that their lives will become corrupt and they will lose all of their power and focus and the end result will be nothing but sin and shame. Now here’s the reason why this is true:
Apart from Jesus, we have nothing!
We are absolutely and totally bankrupt without Him, and we are utterly incapable of doing anything by ourselves. Does this seem like an exaggeration? Most believers if they are being honest would admit that in actuality, they believe that they need Jesus for most things, but they believe that there are still a few things that they can accomplish on their own, with their own abilities, strength, skills or thinking. Yet the Bible is very clear about this… look at John 15:5:
“I am the vine, you are the branches: He that stays in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing.”
Jesus does not waste any words here. The picture is clear and the message is plain. A branch separated from its vine can not do anything because all of its nutrients flow from the vine source. Jesus goes on to make it even more clear by stating the plain and simple truth: apart from Him we can do nothing – not a single thing, big or small. Let’s examine this further in 1st Corinthians 1:30-31:
“But of him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made to us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
That, according as it is written, He that glories, let him glory in the Lord.”
These verses state quite plainly that Jesus is our wisdom, He is our righteousness, our holiness (sanctification) and He is our redemption. This wisdom is not a thing, but it is the person of Jesus Christ, it is the same with righteousness, sanctification and redemption – they are not things but they are all found in the person of Jesus. He is the gift that has been given to you, and He is the giver of these gifts. Do you understand? For example: wisdom is not something that you conjure up or manufacture, it is manifested in you as you are in Christ Jesus. And it is the same with all else as well. God gives you Jesus, the Holy Spirit does nothing but point you to Jesus as well, and Jesus gives you every gift.
Many times we try to use Jesus just to get a specific gift, or we try to do it ourselves. But no, we should be chasing after the giver Himself, and then we will have everything. Consider the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:31-33:
“Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things.
But seek you first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.”
Most of us have read and heard these verses many times, yet we have still failed to comprehend the fullness of what Jesus is saying here. Examine the phrasing and the words used and you will see that it is not normal. In verse 33, many people read and then assume that the kingdom of God is Heaven – but look again… The verse says “kingdom of God and His righteousness.”
Do you see it? The kingdom of God is not a place but a person! Jesus is referring to Himself as the kingdom of God. Seek Jesus and His righteousness that He has purchased for us, and then we will have everything that comes with Him and His righteousness!
This is our God! This is Grace, and the truth of His Grace for us! Give Jesus the praise for what He has done for us!