Episode 33 - The Doctrine of Grace

There are many different ways we describe grace: sacramental, unconditional, and prevenient. But what is meant when we discuss grace? The doctrine of grace is one which we learn about early on in the Old Testament. Let's talk about what grace means to us.

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Transcript

Introduction

What do we know about grace? Is it a characteristic or quality pleasing for its charm or refinement? Or, does it mean to dignify, to raise by an act of favour, or to honour someone?

In class, I generally use this idea of grace as it pertains to an inanimate object. For example, if you drive a car with a manual transmission, some are easier to shift than others. In that case I will say that the easier shifting vehicle is extending grace to the driver.

When it comes to Christian theology, we describe grace as the spontaneous, unmerited gift of God. Grace is the divine favour of God which is reflected in the salvation of sinners, His divine influence operating in each sinner for their regeneration and sanctification.

When we begin to understand the role of grace in our lives it should punctuate the gospel message, clarifying the good news which we preach and teach. The grace of God is so important we must constantly seek to get a better view of what it does in our lives.

Early Understanding

It was a standard belief before the Reformation that grace could be attained through the practice of the sacraments. Grace was only available through work based actions. After the Reformation the view of grace was understood to be a free gift available to all starting from the time of our birth. 

According to the GAMEO website, Balthasar Hubmaier, one of the most well-known and respected Anabaptist theologians of the Reformation, taught that "the human spirit, in contrast to the flesh and the soul, was uncorrupted by the fall. Nonetheless, until the soul is converted, the spirit can do nothing but cry out like a prisoner in longing for God. Hubmaier also held that a common grace gives the soul a limited capacity to respond to God. This capacity, however, remained latent until awakened by the regenerating grace of the gospel."

John Piper, the New Testament scholar and theologian, wrote, "There are 131 uses of grace in the ESV — 124 in the New Testament, 86 of which are from the apostle Paul, which means two-thirds of all the uses of the word grace in the Bible are in one author: Paul. No wonder he’s called “the apostle of grace.”"

Ezra, the ancient Jewish high priest and scribe recorded the following in Ezra 9:8, "But now for a brief moment grace has been shown from the LORD our God, to leave us an escaped remnant and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our bondage.Here, the Hebrew word techinnâh is translated as grace. This is understood as a supplication for favor, and has its roots in the near eastern idea of being encamped, or displaying an act of supplication.

The Cambridge Bible Commentary says that in this verse "the word clearly means the favour or grace, for which the supplication is made."

The Welsh minister and author, Matthew Henry wrote, "Ezra speaks as one much afraid. There is not a surer or sadder omen of ruin, than turning to sin, after great judgments, and great deliverances." And this begs us to ask why is grace seen in this context?

Over the course of his confession, Ezra designates the sin as “ashma,” “deep guilt,” four times. And we're talking about guilt again. But this is a legal guilt not an emotional feeling. We are not under the thumb of tradition but guilty before our creator. But even in our sin, our "deep guilt", God shows grace.

Later, in Ezra 9:13-14, we read, "And after everything that has come upon us for our evil deeds and our great guilt, since You our God have spared us by inflicting less than our wrongdoing deserves, and have given us such an escaped remnant as this, shall we again break Your commandments and intermarry with the peoples who commit these abominations? Would You not be angry with us to the point of destruction, until there would be no remnant nor any who would escape?"

This is a question we must ask of ourselves as well. Shall we again break Your commandments? This is relevant today, to our churches, and to our culture. Pastors in today's progressives churches, profane God; playing the part of the serpent asking, "Did God really say?"

How long will we test the grace of God? In view of God's grace we treat Him like a mindless puppet who must will His actions in accordance with our whims. We scoff at, and ridicule God, ignoring our own inevitable destruction; such blissful arrogance.

Based on his study of Romans 5:20-21, "Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that as sin reigned in death, grace might also reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ", Martin Luther wrote, "The Law is a mirror to show a person what he is like, a sinner who is guilty of death, and worthy of everlasting punishment. What is this bruising and beating by the hand of the Law to accomplish? This, that we may find the way to grace. The Law is an usher to lead the way to grace. God is the God of the humble, the miserable, the afflicted. . . . When the Law drives you to the point of despair, let it drive you a little farther, let it drive you straight into the arms of Jesus who says: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Ryan Griffith from Desiring God writes this, "The point is that, no matter how deep in the power of sin we have sunk, God’s grace is deeper still. The condemnation that Adam brought by rebellion, Christ has overcome by his perfect obedience (Romans 5:19). No matter how deep in the power of sin we have sunk in the rebelliousness of our lives, in Christ grace abounded all the more in order that righteousness, rather than sin (and life, rather than death) might have the final word (Romans 5:21)."Our sin is no match for God's grace. Imagine the grace Joseph extended to his brothers, or the father to his prodigal son. It pales in comparison to the grace afforded by God.

Dividing Opinions

The tension between human freedom and the grace of God is one of the classic problems of Christian theology. The problem appears expressly in the disputation between Augustine of Hippo and Pelagius, and it is still alive today.

Within Christianity, there are differing concepts of how grace is attained. The attainment of grace has been described by Charles C. Ryrie as "the watershed that divides Catholicism from Protestantism, Calvinism from Arminianism, modern liberalism from conservatism".

In the Catholic church the state of grace is granted through baptism. Baptism is seen by the church as the sacrament of admission to the faith, it brings about sanctifying grace to the person being baptized. According to the Baltimore Catechism, sacramental grace is a special help which God gives, to attain the end for which He instituted each Sacrament.

Apologist and professor of theology, Leroy F. Forlines wrote that in Calvinism the teaching of unconditional grace, or irresistible grace, "teaches that the saving grace of God is effectually applied to those whom he has determined to save (the elect) and, in God's timing, overcomes their resistance to obeying the call of the gospel, bringing them to faith in Christ."

The Reformed Theologian, R.C. Sproul, in his commentary on John 6:37-40 said, "The Holy Spirit changes the inclination and disposition of our wills, so that whereas we were previously unwilling to embrace Christ, now we are willing, and more than willing."

In the teaching of Arminianism, Jacobus Arminius, under the influence of Theodore Beza, Desiderius Erasmus, and Johann Kolmann; believed that the Holy Spirit worked on unbelievers to open their hearts to the gospel and respond in faith. This developed a notable theological shift sometimes called prevenient grace, enabling grace, or pre-regenerating grace. 

Arminian theology differs from TULIP, or 5-point, Calvinism by holding to universal atonement, grace that can be resisted, and perseverance to keep salvation. 

Doctrine of Grace

So let's discuss four key points regarding the doctrine of grace.

1) Unmerited gift

Billy Graham once wrote, "Your human mind, with its philosophy of an equal return for favors done, can hardly comprehend the full meaning of this grace of God. But when you catch, by the inspiration of God, its full meaning, you will leave the limits of human reasoning and revel in the spiritual riches of divine truth and privilege." 

Grace, as a gift, is unmerited. We can do nothing to receive it. Regardless of who we are, our sin leaves us guilty under the Law and the only thing we can expect to receive is perfect judgement. The grace of God is beyond comprehension.

J. I. Packer in his book Knowing God describes grace this way: “In the New Testament grace means God’s love in action towards men who merited the opposite of love. Grace means God moving heaven and earth to save sinners who could not lift a finger to save themselves. Grace means God sending His only Son to descend into hell on the cross so that we guilty ones might be reconciled to God and received into heaven. ‘(God) hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him’” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

2) Regeneration 

In his essay for the Gospel Coalition, Matthew Barrett wrote,"Because man needs a grace with resurrection power, then any willful activity on his own part, including faith itself, cannot be the cause but the effect of the new birth. The grace of regeneration is the power of God that grants humans the ability to exercise faith and new inclinations towards God." 

RC Sproul would often compare regeneration to the act of saving someone from drowning. If they are still alive they will grab the rope and all you have to do is haul them in. But if they are dead you have to retrieve them and bring them back to life. So the dead person can do nothing to make themselves live again.So God retrieves dead menand makes them live.

Retired Anabaptist professor of religious studies, Walter Klaassen summarizes the position as follows: "We find ... the conviction that once God works in human life by his Spirit an ontological change takes place. They are changed into divine beings after the image of Jesus. There is, therefore, also a rejection of Luther's view that even a Christian is at the same time a sinner and justified."The ontological change is a change to our very being. Regeneration through grace means we become that which we never were.

3) Sanctification 

Here is a word I'm sure you have heard before. To be sanctified means to be set apart or made Holy. There are some differences of belief on how we are sanctified through the grace of God.

The Catholic Church believes that sanctification through grace is imparted on us through the act of baptism. This is also referred to as the grace of justification because our soul is made acceptable to God. Sanctifying grace is taught to be a permanent substance which adheres to our soul unless we reject God through the commission of a mortal sin. The Catholic Catechism goes on to say that, because of the great mercy of God, repentance and the sacrament of penance can restore God's sanctifying grace in us.

As believers who emerged from the Reformation — Protestant, or Anabaptist —we believe that we are sanctified from the moment of our conversion, our second birth. But this only happens because of the justification we receive through the grace of God.

The implications of the doctrine of Salvation in Protestant theology is significantly different from traditional Catholic teaching.However, we must acknowledge those points which we agree on. As children of God we do believe we receive God's divine grace; that is, His undeserved favor and this results in our salvation.

Romans 3:22–24 says, “This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus”.

4) Common Grace

Simply stated, the idea of common grace is summed up in Matthew 5:45 "He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."

Although this theological concept is relatively new, it is one which Protestants have readily accepted. However there are disagreements on what is actually understood and its theological ramifications.

Introduced to the Dutch Reformed Church by Abraham Kuyper in the late 1800's; the idea of common grace is one which applies grace to the non-elect, a claim which the Protestant Reformed Churches of America reject. They argue that the verse in Matthew is not a reference to grace but to providence. The non-elect, in their view, have no claim to grace as God would never extend it to them.

Although most Calvinists and Arminians generally accept the concept, their opposing views on predestination and free-will color the theology of common grace to match each one's existing thoughts on grace.

Each point on the Doctrine of Grace brings with it difficult ideas to understand or practice. Some of this is due to how we understand it culturally.

Conclusion

Oscar Amaechina, president of Afri-Mission and Evangelism Network, Abuja, Nigeria has written, "There is a trend in the body of Christ that is not healthy for the spiritual growth of believers. Many these days are seeking miracles, signs, and wonders at the expense of their spiritual growth. Gospel preachers have concentrated so much on miracle crusades and meetings that even older saints have joined in to pursue signs and wonders. This trend has retarded the progression of many Christians and has permanently made them spiritual babies."

When we pray, do we ask for signs and wonders, healing or prosperity? We should instead be asking for grace.Such prayer is counter cultural and shows our level of spiritual maturity. 

Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “But he, the Lord, said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me”. Even though he was a great instrument in the hand of God, performing many notable miracles, Paul was sick and never received miraculous healing. He cried to God for healing but God never healed him. Rather, he was given sufficient grace.

John Piper once said,"It appears that the word grace in Paul’s use not only refers to God’s character trait or disposition or inclination to treat people better than we deserve, but the word grace also refers to the action or the power or the influence or the force of this disposition, which produces real, practical outcomes in people’s lives, like being sufficient for good deeds or enduring the thorn in the flesh or working harder than everybody else, which Paul says about his own apostolic work.”

Lest we claim grace to be only a New Testament doctrine we should read passages such as those we already mentioned in Ezra; or the passage in Ezekiel 16, very often called "God's Grace to Unfaithful Isreal". The continuity of Scripture is seen in how doctrine spans the breadth of the word of God.

We are all familiar with the song, "Amazing Grace", written by John Newton,a man who knew the working of grace in his own life. But do we actually listen to the words? The second verse helps to explain grace and its work in our lives.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed

It is not grace received  if it doesn’t change us. Even the thief on the cross changed after knowing Christ’s grace.

It would be remiss of me not to close with this verse from Ephesians 2:8-9,, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast.”