God's Grace

And you start seeing the flowers and everything budding, so turn this light on. There are several biblical terms that Christians can tend to be unclear about because they're used in several different ways. One of those terms is grace. Understanding what grace is helps salvation is accomplished, so obviously it's tremendously important. So, could you define grace to somebody who's not familiar with that term in a way that's straightforward and clear? Could you identify where some members in the Christian faith are? I think the problem with some definitions of grace is they become too restrictive, too narrow.

And so that results in unnecessarily pitting concepts against each other that do not have to be pitted against each other. It's like this classic line, Do you believe in the law? It's a silly argument because people are confusing what God teaches when both options can exist in perfect harmony.

An important principle I think is citing the Bible in general is this concept that the Bible is an area that adds on to each other, that grows and builds. The lessons throughout the Bible are meant to be cumulative. So, multiple definitions and viewpoints don't necessarily mean they're contradictory, it means they're supplementary. They're building on each other. You may have heard that grace has been described as unmerited, pardon, just forgiveness of sins. Now, I would argue forgiveness is actually more of an outcome of grace. It's kind of in the way winning is the outcome of running fast, but it's not the same thing, right? But even unmerited pardon is only the small portion of what the Bible includes in the full definition of grace. So, today's message is going to be about understanding and learning more about what the Bible teaches about grace. The biblical study of grace really is not complex in the sense that there is fundamentally one word used in the Old Testament and one word used in the New Testament. The first use of the word grace is in Genesis 6 and verse 8. So, if you'll please turn there. Genesis 6 and verse 8. So, it's not theological rocket science when we get into the definition of two words. The differences will be in the nuances around how they're used. So, Genesis 6 and verse 8 says, but Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

So, the Hebrew word here is chen, c-h-e-n, and it means grace, acceptance, or unmerited favor with God. Now, an interesting thing about Hebrew words is they naturally derive from a word picture.

And the word picture here actually goes along the lines of what was talked about in the sermonette, but it's just bending down to help another person in need when that person has no right or reason to expect assistance. That's the picture that's captured in this word. So, we can think of grace as being on a person's good side, being in their favor. Noah had grace with God, had favor with God, not because he didn't make mistakes. He had his shortcomings.

But the reason you and I gravitate to somebody is because that person were in favor with them or they're in good favor with us, there's a connection that happens.

And Noah was literally saved because of God's grace or favor toward him.

There was something that pleased God about Noah. So, grace is not this word that only appears in the New Testament. It's not this radical concept that was introduced only by Christ. In fact, a good study I recommend for you is to go through all the examples of the word grace that's in the Old Testament. In Genesis 19-19, Lot thanked the angels who saved him for their grace.

If you will turn to Psalm 84 and verse 11, Psalm 84 and verse 11, we'll grab just one of the many times in the Psalms and Proverbs that the word is used. Psalm 84 and verse 11, For the Lord God is a sun and a shield. The Lord will give grace and glory. No good thing will you withhold from those who walk uprightly. So, David is pointing out that God wants to give us favor. He wants to help in the lives of certain people, those who are willing to walk uprightly.

Why did God choose Israel? It wasn't because they were better than any other nation. It was because of God's grace, His divine favor. Why did God choose? No, Moses. Again, He chose Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt because of his own, because of God's favor.

Why did God choose you and me? It is not because of our works or our strengths.

It's because of His grace. So, let's transition now to the New Testament because the majority of questions come from the New Testament. Please turn to Luke 1 and verse 30. Luke 1 and verse 30.

The Greek word we're about to read for grace is charis. Now, that's spelled C-H-A-R-I-S. The C-H is pronounced as a K, so it's charis. And it's used more than 170 times in the New Testament.

And the words that are used, you may not catch it many of the times it's being used. So, I'm going to give you a couple examples of that to give you a feel. Luke 1 and verse 30. When the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. The word favor is charis, grace.

You'll see a different variation on the word if you go back to verses. Verse 28.

Luke 1, 28. And having come in, the angel said to her, Rejoice highly favored one, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women. So, Mary had this very submissive and surrendering attitude that drew God's favor.

Let's move forward in chapter 2 and verse 40. And we'll see it another time, this time in relationship to Jesus.

And the child, speaking of Jesus, grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. Before we start going further, let's go ahead and read verse 52. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men. The word favor again is charis. He grew in grace with God and man.

So, what we see is that God showed grace, divine favor, to Jesus. God is consistently showing favor and grace toward us in our lives, right? Now, I'm going to further expand a concept, but I want to just point out something while we're here. If you look at verse 52, the concept that grace is only unmerited pardon is ruled out by this one verse alone.

Because Jesus hadn't sinned. He didn't need unmerited pardon. So grace means much more than that, and I'll talk more about that. If you'll turn to Luke 4 and verse 22, we'll see more uses, and this is going to be about how Jesus spoke and the words he used. Luke 4 and verse 22.

There's a very recognizable English word that comes from the root word, chorus. Can you think about it? Charisma. Charismatic. That's what's being reflected here. Jesus' speech was filled with words that came across as being charismatic, having this wonderful, charming, influential feel. Same word. You and I are told, let your speech be seasoned with grace, right? With salt. Turn now to Luke 6, verses 32 through 35. I want you to see how many times you see the word used in these verses I'm about to read. That's my challenge to you. Luke 6, starting in verse 32.

For even sinners do the same, and if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back, but love your enemies do good and lend, hoping for nothing in return. And your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the unthankful and evil. How many did you come up with? You should have come up with four. When you see the word me, have parroted that grace means free, unmerited part of sins. Now, this is absolutely a dimension of grace. But I hope by the examples that I'm using, I'm helping you recognize that grace is far more than unmerited part.

When Jesus was described as growing in grace, it obviously meant more than the forgiveness of sins, since Jesus had never sinned. When we say we're under grace, or you're saved by grace, I hope when you hear that it means far more to you than how God deals with sin. Because of where... Now, so I guess I'll build on this a little bit more.

Forgiveness is only one of many ways God's grace expresses itself. And if you want to put this into flip-flop, because I like just countering an argument, saying you realize what that argument means, another way to make this simple but critical point is, if you're in pardon, then when we're asked to grow in grace, that would imply the need for more sin to generate more grace. Right? If it only meant unmerited pardon, then when the apostles commonly wrote, I wish you grace, they would be saying they wish for the Christians to have a lot of sin, so that they could have a lot of pardon.

That's not what's intended. So what is grace? You will recall grace be with you was a standard introduction that Paul used in most of his letters. Grace is certainly God's goodness. Forgiveness and unmerited pardon to us is undeserving people. It's the root word for love and charity. It's the word for gift, the word for thanks, the word for charisma. Grace means to be acceptable, to be favored, divine favor. Grace is showing kindness and mercy. It is the law of God. It's the gifts of eternal life.

It's the family relationship of the kingdom of God and His rulership. Grace is what helps us live righteously. It's what helps us put on the character of Christ that makes it possible for us to live a godly life. And as you think about all that, you can see it truly is amazing. Dan Dowd in one of his sermons defined grace as God's active love, care, and concern for His creation. Another commentary I read said grace is a sense of what is right, proper, and decent from God's perspective.

And so you think about that divine favor as a simple summary, but it's a very broad term. Turn now to Ephesians 2, verses 4-10. Let's focus on the greatest example of grace God has shown us. And that is being justified and saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ's sacrifice. So Ephesians 2, 4-10. The story begins in the fact that all humans have sinned and therefore were under the penalty of death. Ephesians 2, 4-10. But God, who was rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ, by grace you have been saved.

In other words, by Christ's grace and His love, we've been freely rescued from the penalty of death that we've all earned by our actions. We've been made alive spiritually by having God's Spirit given to us.

Let's continue. And raised us together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace and His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Now, interesting phrase that's used there in the ages to come, because what's being referenced is that God will show us even more grace in the future, the ages to come than He has already.

And that is by calling us into His spiritual family at His return. We can't grasp what all that means because we're physical, but it's an interesting word to us. Now, verse 8, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourself, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Friends, the Bible clearly says we're saved by grace through faith.

There are no two ways around that. We cannot demand grace. We cannot obligate God to give us grace in any form or fashion. It all starts from God's love that extends grace to us. Salvation, the whole concept, starts with judgment, and the understanding that we have all been found guilty. That's the path to understanding and putting perspective.

God in His mercy is willing to look past our guilt. A phrase I read said that God's mercy provides the ability to be forgiven. Grace is the reward for repenting. Again, QT way of phrasing it, but there's relevance there.

Even if we could live a perfect, righteously, perfectly righteous life, moving forward, we... that would not obligate God to give us grace because we've sinned already and we're under a death penalty.

Because of God's grace, we can be saved. It doesn't mean we will be saved. And I'll speak to that, especially automatically. It's only common sense that God expects the pardoned individual to be law-abiding from that point on, to submit to His spiritual law. But there's nothing in any part of what's asked for us in obedience that that obedience ever is what saves us. We are saved only through faith in Christ. Bill, if you want to pull up that slide. There's a visual I remember several of the professors and ambassadors using... I remember Dr. Wuer, Dr. Merritt, several others using this concept in one form or another. If you'll draw a line on a paper in the middle, and on the left side of it, put in your sins, and on the right side put justified.

How do you move... I gotta remember right to left with you guys. From my right to your left. Now, how do you move from being in your sins to being justified?

Now, let's reflect back to what we read in Ephesians 2 and verse 8. You can put at the top of the vertical line the words repent, and in the bottom of the line faith in the sacrifice of Christ. In order for us to move from one side to the other, we must repent of our past sins and exercise faith in the sacrifice of Christ for the remission of past sins. Turn to Romans 3 verse 23 through 26. Romans 3, 23 through 26. What's being pictured here is this great, this gracious plan of salvation, that we did nothing to merit. Romans 3 and verse 23. For all have sins and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

This plan of salvation is one of grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. He went in our stead, which in this next verse we're going to read the word propitiation. That's what it means.

Verse 25, whom God set forth as a propitiation, going in His stead, by His blood through faith to demonstrate His righteousness. Because in His forbearance, that literally means divine tolerance, God has passed over the sins that were previously committed to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. We as humans need salvation. We long for salvation. We absolutely cannot save ourselves.

Now, grace isn't without us having responsibilities. There are conditions. If you remember what was said in Acts 2, 38, when people were pricked to the heart, what did Peter say? He said, Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. So repentance is required because repentance is a condition for forgiveness. Repent, change. I think I gave a sermon a year ago. I gave a sermon on does God truly forget your sins? But the concept of that is when you read words in Hebrew, realize that the action is linked to what is being described. You have to. It's the action for spirit. God will show himself gracious to the person who is humble, right? To the person willing to listen, to learn, to the one willing to walk with him uprightly.

God will not forgive those who willingly continue to sin. We need to change directions in our life. The part that comes in for us to receive God's gift of salvation. Just by its definition, remember the visual image I said that was in the Hebrew word of a person bending down to help another person in need who has no right to it? Grace is not something you buy. It is not something you work for. It is a gift. It comes by comes from God because we're on his good side. Remember Noah, good favor? Because we found favor and become his friend. And there absolutely are conditions to continue in grace, and I'm going to talk about those. But I want you to realize, even then, obedience is never salvation. Salvation comes by grace through faith in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Paul clarified the importance of obedience in verse 31. So while we're here, let's read Romans 3 and verse 31. Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not. And I'll come back to that. On the contrary, we established the law. See, God's law is and was a gift. It is a part of God's grace. It is a part of God's goodness. The law gave us the direction, gives us the direction for how to live. Even if you look at the physical law back with Israel, realize that when a person broke God's law, they still had an ability to regain a relationship with God through the atonement for sin. That was built into the law back with Israel as well.

It was part of the law. God simply understood that mankind would sin because we're weak. So the law allowed for sinners to continue their relationship with God to continue to be blessed.

So again, let's look at this verse, though. How do we establish the law of God through faith?

Turn to Galatians 2 and verse 16. Galatians 2 and verse 16. I want you to realize the concept that if the law of God were not in effect, there would have been no reason for Christ to have died for our sins. If there was no law, there would be no sin. But because the wages of sin is death, Jesus Christ had to come and redeem us from our sins. I read this intriguing quote that said, to see sin without grace is despair. To see grace without sin is arrogance. To see them in tandem is conversion. The argument, are you under the law or under grace, is this terribly constructed argument made purely to confuse people. It's critical we apply a hermeneutical approach of and instead of or when we discuss law and grace. God brought us His law as well as God brought us His grace. We are to obey God's spiritual law while realizing we can't earn salvation without His grace. That's the lesson that's being taught throughout the Bible. Galatians 2 and verse 16. Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.

Even we have believed in Christ Jesus that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law. For by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. Now Paul was talking to the audience at that time that were trying to confuse people by saying you have to be circumcised. That is a mandatory requirement. You can't move from one side of the line to the other just by circumcision or even perfectly living a spiritual life from this moment forward.

Because the wages of sin is death and all have sinned.

So Bill, I'm going to go ahead and put this to black, but if you want to go ahead and turn it off to get your other slides, that's fine. We're done with that PowerPoint now.

Turn to 2 Timothy 1 verses 9 through 10. 2 Timothy 1, 9 through 10. I think the full dimension of God's grace, the full understanding of what Jesus Christ does and did for us, it's staggering. It's beyond humbling. We've been elected out of this world at this time to understand things. We have a chance to be shaped in His image, to have His Spirit in us.

We're developing His character and being called to be future rulers with Him, and all of that is part of God's graciousness, is part of His goodness. 2 Timothy 1 in verse 9. 2 Timothy 1, 9 through 10.

It's truly an amazing, mind-blowing blessing. God did not have to provide a payment for sin.

God did not have to enlighten us. God did not have to give us His Spirit. God obviously does not have to. He's not obligated to give us the gift of eternal life. But He offers all these things to us as an expression of who and what He is. Gracious. The Sermon on Footwashing. Classic example.

What graciousness looks like in action when it's being lived. There are two pitfalls that people fall into with grace. First, there's the pitfall that argues you don't have to do anything.

For the most part in the Christian professing world, the definition of faith is simply to believe that Jesus died for our sins, which is an act of grace, accept that sacrifice, and will be guaranteed salvation. The argument goes, we don't need to worry much about violating the commandments because we know God is going to forgive us anyway, and we have an assurance of salvation. So we can kind of obey, but not worry too much about what's going to happen.

Turn to Romans 5, starting in verse 20, and we'll go through chapter 6-4. So Romans 5, 20-6.

This concept, in kind of a snarky way, is God will forgive me regardless, since that's His job and His obligation. I mean, that's in a sense what's being said. Paul addressed that argument head on.

Romans 5 and verse 20. Moreover, the law entered that the offense might have been bound, but where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Now going to chapter 6. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may have bound?

Certainly not. Now realize that's one of the few areas the Bible has an exclamation point.

Paul was trying to be very, very emphatic about this. Certainly not. Translates as that's ridiculous to think. There is no way that could be possible. It's that type of passion that's being voiced here. And he repeated that exact same thing in verse 15. But let's keep reading from where we're at. How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of you as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death. Therefore we were buried with him through baptism into death that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. That's what is expected of us. How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? You see, we were justified as a gift.

With that justification, God has passed over our sins. We're approaching the Passover. And while it is a sober ceremony, because God has passed over our previously committed sins by his grace, it's also a joyous occasion because of that gift. But then also remember what the holy day that follows it is. The Feast of Unleavened Bread. We're to go on living a new way. We're supposed to remove that leaven from in our lives. So we've got to be motivated to change. Otherwise, we're using grace as an excuse for it. We talked about back in the time of Paul, I've got to be circumcised. I've got to wear tassels. I've got to do whatever.

Even being here on the Sabbath does not obligate God to give us salvation.

Turn to Galatians 5, verse 1-4. We will see Paul speaking to this. And here we're going to find that familiar phrase, falling from grace. A new living translation. I think it does a good job of conveying it. So I'll read this one slightly different than what you're reading. Galatians 5, starting in verse 1. So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free and don't get tied up again in slavery to the law. Listen, I, Paul, tell you this. If you are counting to write with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you. I'll say it again. If you are trying to find favor, grace with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation, you can add the word perfectly, in the whole law of Moses. For if you are trying to make yourself right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ.

The problem that was being addressed at that time by Paul was, again, Jews telling everybody they had to be circumcised to be accepted, even though they accepted Christ as their sacrifice. Again, realize we absolutely need to change. We have to live in obedience, so we don't fall from grace. But we aren't earning salvation by doing it. That's where people get stuck in that concept of thinking that you can't coexist. We're not saved by works, we're not justified by obedience, but by grace. Does it mean, then, that grace does away with the need for obedience, and we can sin?

Does grace lead us to tolerating sin? Paul says certainly not. That was never what was being taught.

So, on the one hand, we're taught that we can fall from grace by rejecting God and returning to living this ongoing disobedience, kind of a nonchalant, it doesn't matter anyway, type of path. On the other hand, one can fall short of grace because of pridefully thinking that we are earning God's grace or earning being saved because we obey. God's salvation requires we recognize our need and our reliance on God's grace and his forgiveness. So, what should be our perspective, then? How do we not get stuck in one of those ruts? Grace is given to us by God to be a catalyst.

Lock onto that concept because it really helps you unlock what grace was given to us for. A catalyst is something that stimulates a reaction. It is something that spurs us on or inspires us.

Grace is about God working in our hearts and in our minds, so ultimately it moves us. It inspires us. It's a catalyst to help us change our thinking. Think about the grace, think about the blessings that God has shown in your life. And what if God gave us what we deserve? We'd all be dead.

That's what we deserve. So, why did God show us the grace he's shown us? Because God is full of grace. Please turn to Romans 2, verses 4-8. Romans 2, verses 4-8. God is like a spiritual chemist, and grace is the intended stimulant to cause a reaction in us.

Grace should change the way we perceive our own lives, how we perceive God. It's to be our motivation, our inspiration, and by the power of God's Spirit in us, which is a gift of grace, we're helped to go where we need to get to. Romans 2, starting in verse 4. Or do you despise the riches of his goodness, forbearance, and long-suffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? Now, if you were to look at the Greek word for goodness, it was used right there, it has the same base word as grace. The goodness, the grace of God, is God's catalyst which should lead us to repentance. It's what motivates, what leads and guides us through the power of God's Spirit. Grace includes this expected motivation that we change to a different mindset. Over and over, that's shown throughout the Bible. And I'll reference a number of them toward the end. It should lead us to fear and to respect God, and then help us to turn away from sin. Let's keep reading. Verse 5, But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart, you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, again salvation links closely with judgment, who will render to each one according to his deeds, eternal life to those who by patient continuance, in doing good, seek for glory, honor, and immortality, but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation, and wrath. Sometimes we can think that grace allows us to paper over sin.

Some people think it means they don't have to worry about the penalty for doing bad things.

That's like reasoning that repentance brings grace. That's backwards. Repentance does not bring grace. Grace is the catalyst, and it should bring repentance. It should help us see ourselves as we really are, because God wants us to change. He wants us to become like him.

Turn to 2 Corinthians 6 and verse 1. 2 Corinthians 6 and verse 1. God wants us to become more like his son. And so that's what Paul is exhorting us as we read 2 Corinthians 6 and verse 1.

We then, as workers together with him, also plead with you to not receive the grace of God in vain. Oh, so we can receive the grace of God in vain. What does that mean? In vain means uselessly. We can make God's grace useless.

See, God is kind. God is tolerant. God is patient. But why? Because ultimately, God will judge sin. We can't lose sight of that. We know that judgment has begun at the house of God, the church, and in time, God will also judge all the world. God's grace should convict us, so we're deeply humbled before him and recognize our need for forgiveness, our need for living differently. Paul isn't saying, don't worry about sin. Just ask in God's grace. As we think about the grace of God, his kindness is not about the absence of judgment. It's about the absolute certainty of judgment. I'll say it again, because I think it's important. God's kindness is not about the absence of judgment. It's about the absolute certainty of judgment. And the message and the intent of grace is to be this catalyst to help us change, to give us an opportunity, because we could never do it on our own, but to have us become better. One analogy I heard in a message I thought was very effective, and it said, imagine you're driving down the road at 70 miles an hour, and all of a sudden God suddenly reveals to you that three miles ahead, the bridge is out, and every car is sailing over the edge. Okay, so what are we going to do about it? We now know there's serious danger ahead. God has revealed this in time for us to stop and to reverse. Grace is the catalyst to about-face, to change directions, and to go the other way before it's too late, because we know, spiritually, we've all deserved to go off that bridge, to keep the analogy. We deserve God's wrath and his judgment, but he gives us grace to help us repent and to live in a different way. If not, then we're rejecting his kindness and his love and his mercy. We are rejecting grace. Turn now to Isaiah 30 and verse 18. Isaiah 30 and verse 18.

Grace was never given as an excuse for us to avoid thinking of God's spiritual law or sin and any judgment associated with it. Instead, grace is the catalyst to becoming godly.

That's where God is looking at our hearts and our minds to judge us for are we then taking his gifts and striving to become like him? The verse we're about to read, I think beautifully summarizes this, and I'm going to read it in two translations. We'll first do the New King James. Therefore, the Lord will so we've got to be sure not to take grace in vain. We don't want to be like 10 of the 12 spies who went into the promised land, right, who saw the amazing beauty that was promised to them, this amazing land, but lost the point of what God would do for right. They went into this amazing gracious land and all they could truly see it through was the lens of their own strengths or their own challenges, their own inabilities. So the exercising of faith is this crucial component of the salvation process. Now you'll hear Catholic Protestant churches that will say that is only theologically accurate if you understand all the dimensions of faith, including it being inextricably linked to obedience.

Faith requires action on our part. You know the story in James 2. The devil and the demons believe in God in trouble and that faith without works or obedience is dead. So the lesson of grace is obedience is expected of us, but we must never start thinking our obedience is suddenly what is saving us. It's our way of showing gratitude to become more like the person who extended to us.

Our primary goal, the key thing in God's grace is it should, it must, motivate and strengthen us in the faith so that we exercise godly virtue, we imitate Christ as Christ imitated his father.

People get confused because they can't accept that two things can be true at the same time.

The United Church of God does teach the biblical concept that God is willing to make peace with anyone no matter how awful they are. It's that God accepts you just the way you are.

But he doesn't want you to stay there and stay that way. That too is scriptural.

Turn to Titus 2 and verse 11 through 14. Titus 2, 11 through 14. I was just dabbling on this one because of the silliness of the argument as I was looking into it, and in like a minute or two, I did a search in the Bible and I found by searching in the New Testament for words like obey, endure, persevere, overcome, fervent, zeal, judgment. Over 500 situations in just the New Testament. I'm sure if I would have looked for other synonyms, I could have gotten over a thousand.

Again, it's realizing these aren't in competition. They go together.

Titus 2, 11. For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men through Jesus Christ, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age. In other words, we need to give up the old man. We need to change and not stay as we are. Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for himself his own special people who are zealous for good works. You're known by what you do. We're defined by our actions, right? We use that all the time when we discuss people we work with or how we are perceived. We teach that to our kids. Turn to James 1, verse 22 through 25. James 1, 22 through 25. I could go through the whole book of James on this whole concept.

Because James speaks about the criticality of applying grace in our lives after becoming baptized converted members. That's what James is talking about. The simple lesson is salvation is a free gift, but this doesn't mean we can do anything we want and remain saved. We must actively exemplify this faith by walking in good works as God expects of us after baptism.

James 1, verse 22. But be doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving yourself. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror. For he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he is. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. There must be fruits that show our repentance. Living faith. Still, that visual absolutely is the only way salvation comes, but we're supposed to continually be living in repentance, which means change and have faith, which is acted. Turn to 1 John 3, verses 4-6. Now we're reading the story of John, Christ's best friend when he was on earth. I realized when I cut and paste this in, I put this in the New Living Translation, so it will be slightly different than yours.

Everyone who sins is breaking God's law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God.

And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and therefore, I'm sorry, and there is no sin in him. Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin, but anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is. See, we can't just begin and end with accepting Jesus as our Savior.

God expects us to sign up for more than just this emotional connection. He expects us to change to become like him. That's who he wants to raise to become spiritually part of his family.

We're to respond by obedience to the grace of God and commit in this behaviorally changed manner, but realize that our obedience is not what saves us. It's what we do in gratitude to the great being who made salvation possible. Turn forward to 1 John 5, verses 2-3.

We'll continue the thought with John. 1 John 5, starting in verse 2. By this we know that we love the children of God when we love God and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome.

All right, let's go forward. I'm kind of working my way through the writers of the New Testament. Go to Jude. Step-brother to Jesus Christ. Jude 1, verses 3-4. Beloved, while I was very diligent to write you concerning our common salvation, that's what he intended to start writing on, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith, contend for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain men have crept in unnoticed who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men who turned the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord Jesus Christ.

So we have to avoid thinking of grace as a license to sin. That is what it means, turning it into lewdness. God's way of life is his package. Our faith and our subsequent obedience is a necessary part of continuing in God's grace. Obtaining and retaining grace is conditional upon a Christian's willingness to repent. Right? We show that on the visual. Remember, repent means changing direction. That's what repentance means. We're to stop sinning, have a change of heart by Christ's Spirit being in us, and live as Christ lived with us doing it as humans, making mistakes, because that teaches us, again, that same visual that we'll keep if we rely on our own selves. We're earning death over and over, but hopefully we're doing it less and less because of realizing how much we need Christ and how much we want to be like the being willing to make this possible for us. We're not talking about our works earning salvation. I can't say that enough times, but we're talking about an establishing a pattern of living God's way of life, which is what he expects. If I was to summarize what James and all the apostles are basically teaching, they said, if you really have faith, it will show. We're defined by our actions. So what is the grace of God?

This loving, gracious kindness from God surely includes unmerited pardon, but I hope you see a lot of other things that grace is besides just unmerited pardon. The grace of God is for us to be able to receive his Holy Spirit, to develop God's holy nature, his strengths, for us to love and serve others like we heard in the sermonette with foot washing. It's to enter ultimately into his royal family as sons and daughters of God, and God, through his mercy, through his grace, allows us time to enact change. Go back in with something. We'll next discuss how we should be growing in God's grace.

Thank you.