One of the major hurts in my older Christian life is my
discernment in a movement on the part of Christian churches away from grace. It
seems to me that we should be able to get basic doctrine under our belt, and
then proceed forward, but such action does not seem to be the action of the
Christian church. I find history replete with Christians not meeting the
expected and desired behavior. All too often, the church just seems to miss it
entirely. Our failures, listed here, would likely fill endless pages.
Church leaders used to teach that the church would progress
in adopting Christian values until the church itself progressed to a point
where the Christ would find earth once more to his liking and would return. I
shake my head at our folly. Christ’s return is predicted, but first he will
judge men in their absolute wickedness, and then he will reign in Jerusalem
with Israel and forever will his saints be with him. “So shall we ever be with
the Lord.” There is absolutely no way that the Church will ever perfect
herself; the best she can hope for is that individuals, living and walking by
the Spirit, will do the will of God. But I digress for this short piece is to
be on grace, not on living in the Spirit.
Watching The Chosen last night on the TV was a delight.
There was one scene I think fitting for our discussion. James and John finally
ask their question about them sitting on the left hand and the right hand of
God. Jesus shows his abruptness with their question and, in the TV is seen
shaking his head and almost muttering about their lack of understanding. He had
taught them for over three years, and they still thought of having power and
distinction over others. He was frustrated because even his best disciples did not get it. So I think Jesus might often have to deal with our
lack of understanding. Often, we are as children, needing the basics gone over
time after time.
Ephesians 2: 8&9 says it all. It amazes me that there
seems to be a discernable movement on the church away from this great topic.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It
is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.” Every word of those
famous verses is inspired, and ought to be most carefully analyzed.
“For by grace you have been saved” is the first phrase to
look at. Grace has been defined as unmerited favor and it is by unmerited and
undeserved favor that we are saved. “And that not of yourselves” is the next
phrase to remind us that we have absolutely nothing to do with the saving act
of God. It is as far from us as the East is from the West. It remains in the
province of God and has nothing whatsoever to do with us. “It is a gift of God”
is the next phrase, insisting that we not think that grace has anything at all
to do with us, “Not of works”. Paul knows his audience well, and repeats
essentially that it is not of ourselves, and not of works in any sense. As men,
some who are wonderful works of self-discipline, must learn that before God we
are all totally wanting, humbled and in desperate need of rescue.
I suspect the challenges towards grace inevitably come from the type of man that thinks he is okay in most areas. He recognizes that he sins, but he would add the words, “occasionally”, and thinks that he must surely please God most of the time with his life. Contrast the man who looks in the mirror, and knows his desperateness, sees his own wicked heart, and owns his mistakes. That sort of man knows fully well the grace of God, and what it has done for him. I am not sure of that at all with the first man, who thinks that surely God will see that some of his life is not that bad. He has forgotten the scripture that says that everyone goes astray. Everyone turns to his own wicked way.
(Romans
3:11,12 There is none that understandeth, there is none
that seeketh after God.)12 They are all gone out of the
way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no,
not one.
Everyone. No exceptions. Therefore grace has to be completely everything for salvation with nothing added. It is the partially righteous man who fails to see his need; the wicked man knows his desperate need. And that is where I think we miss the mark. The partially righteous man can be a noble example of living, yet his righteousness is still as filthy rags in the sight of God.
For in the same passage, does it not say, “the Lord has laid upon him the iniquity of us all”? What does that mean except that there are no pathways to God except through grace. Were it not for the perfect sacrifice of Christ, all of us were doomed.
What I would like to do is to write two anecdotal stories
drawn from my own experience to try to turn your attention to his wonderful (and
complete) grace. I realize the dangers of personal experiences and anecdotes;
they are not scripture. But in these two anecdotes, I think, is great truth,
that might renew your thinking in the wonderful grace of God.
But first, I think a fresh look at the parable of the sower
is in order. It appears in the gospels, and we will use its first appearance,
in Matthew 13: 3-9,
“Consider the sower who went out to sow. 4 As
he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and ate them
up. 5 Others fell on rocky ground, where there
wasn’t much soil, and they sprang up quickly since the soil wasn’t deep. 6 But
when the sun came up they were scorched, and since they had no root, they
withered. 7 Others fell among thorns, and the
thorns came up and choked them. 8 Still others fell
on good ground and produced a crop: some 100, some 60, and some 30 times what
was sown. 9 Anyone who has ears should listen!”
Note that the sower in the parable has only four seeds. One
is snatched up by birds, and has no possibility of germination, but all of the
other three do germinate. The usual way of looking at this parable may not fully
develop its plain meaning. I looked for years at this parable, immediately
thinking that I would like to be the last seed. I wanted to become a seed which
germinates and produces 30 or 60 times what is sown.
But if we reflect a little bit on the parable, another
meaning begins to emerge. We commonly think only one seed germinates, but that
is not true. Three seeds germinate. Could the parable be telling us that there
are three believers here, and not just one? If so, and I think it likely, there
are two outcomes for those who believe that are not good. With that simple
thought in mind, let’s go to the next section.
* *
*
Over one hundred years ago, a Christian named Lewis Sperry
Chafer wrote a whole book about the subject of grace. His book remains one of
the highlights of my life. He presents grace as God meant it to be given,
without recompense or future cost. In his day, too, the church was often
struggling with basic doctrine, and Chafer sought to close the door forever on
the idea of our works gaining merit before God. I surely shall quote
extensively from this favorite book of mine, and particularly shall try to
close each section with one of his thoughts.
…the supreme feature of the Christian faith is that
supernatural, saving, transforming work of God, which is made possible through
the infinite sacrifice of Christ and which, in sovereign grace, is freely
bestowed on all who believe.
Chafer, Lewis Sperry. Grace (p. 2). Biblos Project. Kindle Edition.
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