The Attributes of God Steve Lawson
Trinity Bible Church, beginning July 13, 2022
Lesson 13. The GRACE of God
[N.B. We will confine this study to the grace of God in salvation]
Psalm 86:15 "But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness."
Explain the difference between God's grace and God's mercy?
God's GRACE is His giving the undeserving, the ill-deserving, the Hell-deserving—what they do not deserve:
God's MERCY is His not giving the undeserving, the ill-deserving, the Hell-deserving—what they do deserve:
Though God's grace and mercy are different, they are never separated. They are the two sides of the 'coin of salvation'.
Salvation by grace must exclude all works, merit and sense of deserving.
God never gives saving grace to the unsaved.
God always gives justice to the unsaved.
MESSAGE INTRODUCTION
God's grace should both flood one's heart with thankfulness and love for Him, and also provide the model for how we should treat others. In this lesson, Lawson uncovers the extent of God's grace, which is seen most clearly in His saving His people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21)
Abraham Booth: "Grace is the eternal and absolute free favor of God, manifested in the bestowment of spiritual and eternal blessings to the guilty and the unworthy."
THE GRACIOUS TRINITY
The FATHER is called "the God of all grace" in 1 Peter 5:10. He is the Fountain of all grace.
The SON is described as "full of grace" in John 1:14.
The SPIRIT is called "the Spirit of grace" in Hebrews 10:29. The Spirit is the One who applies the gospel to the hearts of chosen, redeemed sinners with saving efficacy. He quickens God's elect while they are yet spiritually dead. That is, He conquers their rebellious wills, melts their hard hearts, opens their sin-blinded eyes, and cleanses their souls from the leprosy of sin. He gives ears to hear, eyes to see, and a heart to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The GOSPEL is called "the gospel of the grace of God" in Acts 20:24. To the self-righteous religionist, the gospel is a stumbling block. To the learned, philosophical worldling, it is foolishness. Why? Because there is nothing in the gospel to gratify the pride of man. The gospel of God declares that man can never be saved, but by the grace of God. It declares that apart from Christ, the unspeakable gift of God's grace, there is no salvation. It declares that the spiritual state of every human being is desperate, hopeless, and irretrievable. The gospel addresses men and women as depraved, guilty, condemned, perishing sinners. It puts us all upon one level. The gospel declares that the purest moralist is in the same lost condition as the vilest profligate; that the zealous religionist is as far from God as the most profane infidel. Without Christ, without grace, all people are hopelessly lost. The gospel addresses every descendant of Adam as a fallen, polluted, Hell-bent, Hell-deserving sinner, utterly incapable of changing his ruined condition.
Don Fortner: Every aspect of God's salvation is by GRACE alone.
Are we 'chosen' of God? We were chosen unto salvation by the "election of grace".
Are we 'redeemed' by the death of Christ? "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace!"
Are we 'called', 'born again'? We are born again by the Spirit of God, who called us from death to life in Christ by the power of his omnipotent grace.
Are we 'justified'? We are justified by grace.
Are we 'sanctified'? We are sanctified by grace.
Are we 'kept'? We are kept by the power of God's grace.
There is no place between the pit of Hell and the gates of pearl, where salvation depends on us. It is written in the Book of God in bold, capital letters: "BY GRACE YOU ARE SAVED!" Any religion, any doctrine, any religious teacher, anything or anyone who contradicts that message, contradicts the Word of God. Salvation is by the grace of God--entirely by the grace of God. Human works, human effort, and the will of man has absolutely nothing to do with it. "Salvation is of the LORD!"
LECTURE OUTLINE
I. God's Grace is UNMERITED and UNDESERVED
A. God's grace is given to those who are guilty.
B. Grace and works cannot mix.
1. If works play a role in justification, then God's grace is no longer grace (Romans 11:6; Romans 3:24; Titus 3:7).
Justification is not a reward for the righteous, but a gift for the guilty.
2. Ephesians 2:8-9 states that salvation is "not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
II. God's Grace is ETERNAL (2 Timothy 1:9)
A. Before time began, God planned to give His grace to His elect.
1. The elect were not chosen on the basis of anything good in them.
2. They were chosen according to God's own purpose and grace (Romans 11:5)
III. God's Grace is SOVEREIGN
A. God does not have to be gracious to anyone.
B. No one has a claim on the grace of God because it is given to those who are undeserving (Romans 9:10-16).
IV. God's Grace is MEDIATED
A. It is mediated through the Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:17; 1 Timothy 2:5)
1. There is no salvation outside of Christ (John 14:6; Acts 4:12).
2. Christ alone can represent man to God, and God to man; since He is fully God and fully man.
B. Saving grace is only "IN CHRIST" (Ephesians 1:3-8)
V. God's Grace is SAVING
A. God's grace saves believers from God Himself! Apart from His grace, mankind can only expect His judgment and wrath. (Romans 3:24; Acts 15:11)
B. God's saving grace is super-abounding. There is no amount of sin that God's grace cannot overcome. (Romans 5:20; Ephesians 1:7)
C. God's saving grace is transformative. By it, He transforms believers into the image of Christ (Titus 2:11–12; 1 Corinthians 15:9-10; 2 Corinthians 3:18).
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. Because salvation is a gift of God's grace, works are unimportant. a. True b. false
2. Because God is gracious, which of the following statements is false?
a. His grace overcomes the hearts of the wicked.
b. There is no amount of sin that He cannot forgive.
c. He will not ultimately judge the wicked.
d. Men must respond to salvation with thanksgiving.
3. Since God's grace is mediated, which of the following statements is false?
a. Christ is the mediator between God and man.
b. There is no salvation outside of Christ.
c. Other religions can experience His grace through different mediators.
4. God's saving grace cannot be resisted.
a. True b. false
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. How would you respond in the following scenarios:
~ A friend who gives this response to your gospel presentation: "I am too unworthy and depraved to be forgiven by God."
~ A friend who gives this response to your gospel presentation: "I am a fairly good guy. I obey the law and follow the ten commandments. I'm sure that I am going to Heaven"?
~ A Christian who confides in you: "I have committed this same sin again and again! Surely I am not good enough to go to Heaven!"
~ A professing Christian tells you that the only reason why he is saved and others are not saved, is because he used his free will properly, while others did not.
2. With the exception of Christianity, every religion in the world is essentially based on works/merit. Why is the principle of "Sola Gratia" so important.
3. Psalm 84:11 says, "The LORD gives grace and glory."
Explain the connection between grace and glory.
4. Your comments on the following:
The only difference between the children of God and the children of the devil, is God's grace. Every true child of God knows it and gladly acknowledges, "By the grace of God I am what I am!" (1 Corinthians 15:10).
5. Your comments on the following:
The grace of God that brings salvation is omnipotent and irresistible. None are too sinful, too base, too vile, or too far gone for God to save! His arm is not shortened that He cannot save. His mighty arm is omnipotent in the operations of His grace! None are beyond the reach of God's omnipotent grace!
6. Your comments on the following:
Nowhere does the glory of God's free and sovereign grace shine more conspicuously than in the saving of the most unworthy and most unlikely objects.
7. Your comments on the following:
God saves no man against his will. Saving grace makes the sinner willing. It is a secret exercise of omnipotence on the the heart alluring him to salvation and glory by Christ. Saving grace is always effectual.
8. Your comments on the following:
Scripture emphasizes that grace is needed not only for regeneration, but for the sanctification and preservation of the believer as well. The Christian life from start to finish is a life wholly dependent upon God's grace. (2 Corinthians 12:9; Hebrews 4:16; James 4:6)
9. Your comments on the following by Arthur Pink:
God's grace is completely unmerited and unsought, and is altogether unattracted by anything in or from or by the objects upon which it is bestowed.
10. Your comments on the following by George Bishop:
Grace is a provision for men who are:
so corrupt that they cannot change their own natures,
so averse to God that they cannot turn to Him,
so blind that they cannot see Him,
so deaf that they cannot hear Him, and
so dead that He Himself must open their graves and lift them into resurrection.
11. Your comments on the following:
Little sinners need God's grace as much as big sinners.
Big sinners are not exempted from God's grace because their sins are so heinous.
In God's eyes, and in the final judgment, there are only two categories of people:
1. those who receive God's grace
2. those who receive God's justice
Matthew 25:32-34 "All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on his left.
Then the King will say to those on His right, "Come, you who are blessed by My Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world!"
Matthew 25:41 Then He will say to those on His left, "Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels!"
those on His right and those on His left
the sheep and the goats
the blessed and the cursed
the elect and the reprobate
the redeemed and the unredeemed
the regenerate and the unregenerate
believers and unbelievers
the saved and the lost
Don Fortner: The only difference there is between the believer and the unbeliever, between the righteous and the wicked, between the seed of Christ and the seed of the serpent—is the difference which grace has made.
SUMMARY Salvation is All of Grace!
Acts 15:11 "We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are."
Ephesians 2:5 "it is by grace you have been saved."
Ephesians 2:8 "For it is by grace you have been saved"
Grace chose me.
Grace redeemed me.
Grace effectually called me.
Grace preserves me.
Grace will bring me Home!
Astonishment!
Gratefulness!
Love!
Obedience!
SUMMARY VERSES
Psalm 86:15 "But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness."
1 Corinthians 15:10 "By the grace of God I am what I am!"
2 Corinthians 8:9 "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich!"
2 Corinthians 9:8 "God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work."
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 "May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word."
Hebrews 4:16 "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."