GRACE ALONE AND ALWAYS

GRACE ALONE AND ALWAYS!

Ephesians 2:1-10

Dr. Wm. J. Maxwell

First Presbyterian Church, Newport, RI

October 30, 2005

It was on the 31^st of October, 1517, that an Augustinian monk by the name of Martin Luther shook up the Church by calling for reform. The Church had strayed from having Jesus Christ as its sole foundation. It was turning instead to additional means in seeking to secure one’s salvation in the sight of a thrice-holy God. Such means were useless, said Luther, meaningless upon which to rely, for it is by God’s grace alone in Jesus Christ that we are forgiven, accepted, and adopted as the children of God.

There are occasions when we find the Church using special words, words that are somewhat unfamiliar in their meaning. Such words might include the “narthex” or the “vestry.” “Grace” is also one of those words we use in church circles with great frequency, but not everyone fully understands the meaning of the term.

This New Testament word describes God’s attitude or disposition towards those who are undeserving of His love and favor. Our passage for this morning, for example, speaks of God and of His radical grace and lavish love.

Here, Paul tells us that the natural state of human beings is one of spiritual death. In following the devil’s lies, in conforming to the world’s ways, and in giving in to the desires of our own sinful nature, we live in active rebellion against God. Appropriately, God’s disposition toward a sinful, rebellious humanity is one of righteous indignation and of the most just and fair judgment, being fully aware of all our thoughts and intentions, our deeds and behavior. Nothing, absolutely nothing, escapes His attention.

But whereas God could ever so appropriately bring forth His just and fair judgment upon us all, He has instead acted in the richness of His mercy, out of the deepest level of love, and out of an immense treasure of kindness, in bringing forth those who were once spiritually dead into spiritual life. In the midst of a sea of fallen humanity, there are those whom God has raised up to new life in Jesus Christ.

Now, God knows that reliance upon any merit of our own is impossible. After all, spiritually dead people are incapable of such praiseworthy behavior. For this reason, God has Himself chosen to act ever so graciously toward us in bringing forth spiritual life and life found in Jesus Christ.

Grace, then, is God’s disposition toward those who are undeserving of His favor, unworthy of His acceptance. It is a disposition that should utterly amaze and astound us. It is too good to be true … but it is! With this in mind, Dr. THL Parker describes grace for us in this way:

The essence of the doctrine of grace is that God is for us. What is more, He is for us who in ourselves are against Him. More still, He is not for us merely in a general attitude, but has effectively acted towards us. Grace is summed up in the name Jesus Christ. [i]

When we look at what God has done for us in the incarnation of His one and only Son, the obedience of His life and in His suffering, His sacrificial death and victorious resurrection, we can see that Dr. Parker is in fact right. We find not only that God’s disposition is gracious, but that Jesus Himself is God’s act of grace. Whereas we are incapable of ever being fully and perfectly obedient, Jesus was, and He is thus able to offer us the gift of His own righteousness. Whereas we should be given the sentence of judgment, Jesus took it upon Himself, so that we would not have to.

So you see, the essence of God’s grace is that it is free. God freely acts in a favorable way towards us when we do not deserve this at all. God freely brings forth the offer of salvation in Jesus Christ. And to those who fully accept such an offer in faith and in trust, there comes the joyful confession that “it is by grace (we) have been saved through faith – and this not from (our)selves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Perhaps one of the most popular and beloved of all Christian hymns is “Amazing Grace.” The Englishman John Newton was quite autobiographical in his choice of the words to this hymn.

You may recall that at the time of his conversion, Newton was an absolute pagan in word and deed. His speech and behavior had been rough, crude and even vile. His occupation had been even worse, that being captain of a slave ship. Some years later he would confess regarding himself in those days: “I know not that I have ever since met so daring a blasphemer.”

But God, in His mercy, brought the prodigal John Newton to saving faith. Newton was not only soundly converted, he turned from trafficking in slaves to setting the captives free by proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ as an Anglican pastor. Till the day he died, Newton never ceased to be amazed at God’s grace, that “such a wretch should not only be spared and pardoned, but reserved to the honor of preaching Thy Gospel, which he had blasphemed and renounced … this is wonderful indeed!”

The now familiar hymn was written to accompany his sermon for New Year’s Day, a sermon based on the text of I Chronicles 17:16: “Then King David went in and sat before the LORD and said, ‘Who am I, O LORD God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?’” [ii] It was appropriate and relevant, for John Newton never stopped being so utterly amazed at God’s grace. God had turned toward John when John had turned his back on God.

“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound,

that saved a wretch like me.

I once was lost, but now am found,

was blind, but now I see.”

And should we not be amazed, also? If you are a Christian, and you’ve had a momentous conversion experience, and you know all about being lost and found, blind, but now seeing, then never fail to remember just how amazing God’s grace truly is. If you’ve lost that sense of amazement over the course of time, now is the time to remember your past, to reflect on it as did John Newton, and marvel at God’s grace in bringing about such a change in your life.

But perhaps you are a Christian and you didn’t have such a dramatic turn, growing up instead in the loving nurture of the Church. Maybe you don’t know precisely when it was that you trusted in Christ, only that you now love Him and serve Him. Then that grace, too, is amazing. For you see, you still have received what you have not deserved: the hand of God in Christ reaching down to save you, to embrace you, and to hold you fast.

In talking with many Christians over the years, I’ve found it all to be rather curious. Some who have not had a dramatic conversion experience are envious of those who have had one, believing themselves to then be somehow inferior – a second class Christian, if you will. “How wonderful it would be,” they say, “if I could only mark the time and place, being once so lost and blind, then found and seeing.”

But some who have had a dramatic conversion experience are envious of those who have not had one, as they say to themselves, “What sorrows I would have missed, if only I’d only become a Christian at an earlier time.”

Dear friends, don’t be deceived about all this! There is no such thing as first or second class Christians, for all Christians are recipients of that which they do not deserve, regardless of the timing, and that is the love and mercy of God in Jesus Christ. It is grace alone and always, for all of us!

In our passage, however, there are yet more perspectives to being the recipients of God’s grace. The apostle Paul not only speaks of our salvation by grace alone through faith in Christ, but he also reminds us that grace is to be found in the continuance of our earthly walk, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

God’s grace is not limited to merely forgiveness or even our adoption, but extends also to the transformation of our lives. In the realm of God’s grace, we discover that we are His workmanship, as He shapes and molds and fashions our lives, changing both our inner hearts and our outward behavior.

In this realm of God’s favor, we find ourselves being able to say with the prophet Isaiah: “But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hands.” [iii] Oh, perhaps today we may not be the person in Christ we truly want to be, but many of us can nevertheless look back and say to ourselves, “And still, by God’s grace, I am not the person I used to be.” We can be quite confident that God will continue this work within us until the very day He takes us home. [iv]

God’s undeserved favor, His amazing grace extends as well into the deepest wounds and the greatest challenges we face. A love that meets us initially in our coming to faith in Christ will not fail to meet us in our time of need. It is indeed a “love that will not let (us) go.” This is the case, as stated in the lines of Newton’s hymn:

“The Lord has promised good to me,

His word my hope secures;

He will my shield and portion be,

as long as life endures.”

Looking into the past, haven’t you discovered God’s promises to be tried and true, and that He has been your refuge, protector and strength? And thus being your “shield and portion” in the past, how can He not be so in the present, or in the future?

“Through many dangers, toils and snares,

I have already come;

‘Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,

And grace will lead me home.”

Yes, I know fully that for some, trials can be quite severe in this life. But God’s grace is not limited to this life alone, is it? God’s grace will also “lead (us) home.”

John Newton had a dear friend named William Cowper, who also wrote hymns. For many years, Cowper had a deeply troubled life, and Newton was often by his side, assisting and helping him, seeking to give him encouragement along the way.

When Cowper died and Newton gave the funeral sermon for his friend, John Newton put this all into perspective:

(William) was one of those who came out of great tribulations. He suffered much here for 27 years, but eternity is long enough to make amends for all. For what is all he endured in this life, when compared with the rest which remaineth for the children of God. [v]

That does put it into perspective, doesn’t it? The Apostle Paul would agree, who contrasted “this slight momentary affliction” with “an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” that is being prepared for us.[vi]

It’s all of grace, isn’t it? Grace alone and always? So it is that …

“When we’ve been there 10,000 years,

Bright shining as the sun,

We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise

Than when we’d first begun!”