Grace

Hebrews 4:16

Almost all professing christians profess to believe that salvation is by grace. The Bible states the fact of salvation by grace alone so often and so clearly that it is difficult to find any who claim to be christians who openly deny it. The trouble is that the vast majority of men and women, and the vast majority of preachers, talk about grace in such a way that they frustrate the grace of God. The grace they talk about is not grace at all, but works and freewillism. It is therefore needful that constant, clear instruction be given about the grace of God. Grace belongs to and comes from God, the sovereign Monarch of all things, whose lofty throne is a "throne of grace". Be sure you understand these things about grace:

GRACE, AS IT IS DEFINED, DESCRIBED, AND ILLUSTRATED IN THE BIBLE, HAS FOUR DISTINCT CHARACTERISTICS. Grace is not a passion or desire, in the heart of God to save sinners. Grace is an attribute of God and the work of God by which he accomplishes the salvation of his people. As such, it has certain characteristics. Any view of grace that violates any of these characteristics is heretical. Grace is ETERNAL (II Tim. 1:9), IMMUTABLE (Rom. 11:29), SOVEREIGN (Rom. 9:11-24), and EFFECTUAL (Eph. 2:8-9).

SALVATION BY GRACE DESTROYS ALL ROOM FOR HUMAN BOASTING (I Cor. 1:29-31; 4:7). The only difference between saved sinners and lost sinners is the grace of God. Not even the repentance and faith by which we come to God is produced by us. These things are the gifts and operations of grace in us (Acts 5:31; 11:17; Rom. 2:4; I Cor. 3:5; Eph. 1:19; Phil. 1:29; Col. 2:12).

SALVATION BY GRACE MEANS THAT THE TRIUNE GOD GETS ALL THE PRAISE, HONOR, AND GLORY FOR IT: The Father for planning it, the Son for purchasing it, and the Holy Spirit for performing it (Eph. 1:2-14). "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake" (Psa. 115:3).

ANY MIXTURE OF WORKS WITH GRACE IS A TOTAL DENIAL OF GRACE AND IS DAMNING TO ALL WHO EMBRACE IT (Rom. 11:6; Gal. 5:2, 4). Grace plus anything you do, feel, experience, or will to do is not salvation but damnation.

Don Fortner