Doug Reynolds teaches the Young Adults Sunday School class at Highland Park Baptist Church. Although the class calls itself ‘The Young Adults in Denial’ because most of the class is over the age of 40, it is a class where God’s word is learned through reading and open discussion. The class usually picks the topics and Doug creates a lesson for it. Doug has reformatted these lessons so the seeds of God’s word can now be cast even further.
True Grace and The Law
True grace is from God (I Peter 4:10; 5:10). It is an expression of divine benevolence. What is benevolence? Simply defined, it is an act of kindness or charity. When put in the perspective of divine benevolence, it is an act of charity (love) given by God with no expectation of remittance. This means God does not expect us to pay Him back for His gift of grace. It is a gift, unmerited and without strings. It is available for all to take.
Grace is not bestowed unconditionally; rather, it is given to those who humble themselves in submission to the will of God (I Peter 5:5). We are free to accept God’s grace or reject it. God will not force His will on any of us; it is our choice.
True grace brings home a sense of pardon to the soul, and imparts everlasting consolation (Ephesians 1:7; 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17). What does this tell us about holding on to the guilt of sin? What it should tell us is that holding onto our guilt of sin is an unnecessary use of our time.
True grace removes condemnation, and justifies us freely, fully, and eternally (Titus 3:7). Remember that God’s grace, if accepted, removes our sin from our account. What do you think is meant by that? It means that a benefactor has paid our debt. Think about it like this; you make your first payment on your new house only to learn, to your delight, that the debt has been paid by someone else!
True grace strengthens, supports, and carries the Christian through all his conflicts, tribulations, and trials (2 Corinthians 12:9). How do we achieve Paul’s level of acceptance of God’s grace? We accomplish it by being submissive to God’s will and by trusting Him to provide for us in all instances.
True grace builds up and establishes its possessor in truth, in faith, and in love (Acts 20:32; Hebrews 13:9). Reliance on God’s grace is essential to grow as a believer. Would you agree that spiritual maturity is a process? Do you think Paul’s attitude about God sustaining him was as strong at the beginning of his Christian journey as it was when he wrote 2 Corinthians?
True grace is always a gift, and is invariably free (Romans 11:6; Ephesians 4:7).
There is only one true gospel (Gal. 1:6-9), which will save a sinner (Rom. 3:23-24) from his/her sin. As such, true grace comes only from the Father through his Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.
True grace destroys the love of, and dominion of, sin. It leads us from the law to the gospel (Romans 6:14). We can do nothing to earn God’s grace, or to keep it, as some would like us to believe. What then is the purpose of the Law in the Old Testament?
“…You are not under law but under grace” (Romans 6:14). This does not mean that we should ignore what the law teaches. It means you are not burdened by it as a job description of how to earn the wages of salvation.
Think of the Law as a mirror. When you look at yourself in the Law’s mirror, what do you see? When you study the Ten Commandments, what do you realize?
The Law was given not as an instrument to redeem us; it was given to make us realize that we cannot keep it. We cannot earn God’s redemption by demonstrating how good we are. We must totally rely on God’s grace to redeem us. How do we do that? We do that by humbling ourselves to God’s sovereignty, accepting His lordship through Jesus Christ, our redeemer. Simply put, humility and acceptance restore our relationship to God, not works.