A Finishing Grace

April 10, 2016 (061310R)    NOTES NOT EDITED

A Finishing Grace

Galatians 1:6-9; 2:11-21

SIS-- From start to finish and everywhere in between, salvation is by grace alone.

The Book of Galatians is a fabulous defense of the doctrine of salvation by grace alone.  It is a must read for anyone who wants to live in the "freedom of grace" rather than the "bondage of law."

Grace is the most important doctrine in the Bible.  Everything starts with (and ends with) grace. 

A debate took place a few years ago at a comparative religions conference in England. The wise and scholarly gathering were debating the question:  "What is really unique about Christianity." 

As you might guess, there were many doctrines put forth that made Christianity unique.

Someone suggested what set Christianity apart from other religions was the concept of incarnation, the idea that God became incarnate in human form. But someone quickly said, "Well, actually, other faiths believe that God appears in human form." Another suggestion was offered: what about resurrection? The belief that death is not the final word. That the tomb was found empty. Someone slowly shook his head. Other religions have accounts of people returning from the dead.

Then, as the story is told, C.S. Lewis -- perhaps the greatest Christian thinker of the 20th century-- walked into the room, tweed jacket, pipe, armful of papers, a little early for his presentation. He sat down and took in the conversation, which had by now evolved into a fierce debate. Finally during a lull, he spoke saying, "what's all this rumpus about?" Everyone turned in his direction. Trying to explain themselves they said, "We're debating what's unique about Christianity." "Oh, that's easy," answered Lewis, "it's grace."  The room fell silent.  Lewis continued that Christianity uniquely claims God's love comes free of charge, no strings attached.

No other religion makes that claim. After a moment someone commented that Lewis had a point, Buddhists, for example, follow an eight-fold path to enlightenment. It's not a free ride.  Hindus believe in karma, that your actions continually affect the way the world will treat you; that there is nothing that comes to you not set in motion by your actions. Islam has the "Five Pillars." Judaism rests on obedience to a code of the law that implies God has requirements.  In every religion put forth there was some, or many, requirements necessary to gain eternal life -- however that is defined by the religions.  A person must work for any salvation.

At the end of the discussion everyone concluded Lewis had a point. Only Christianity dares to proclaim God's love is unconditional. An unconditional love that we call grace.  The unmerited favor of God, or grace, is the beginning, middle and end or our salvation.

From start to finish and everywhere in between, salvation is by grace alone.  Let's read in Galatians where Paul challenges Peter because Peter, and the Galatians, were abandoning the doctrine of salvation by grace and substituting a salvation by works.  Here's what Paul said,

⁶ I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— ⁷ which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. ⁸ But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! ⁹ As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! ¹⁰ Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

These are some strong words.  Paul literally said, "If anyone tries preaching a gospel of works to you, let them go straight to hell."  Paul a few verses later gets right into Peter's face and says:

¹¹ When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. ¹² Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. ¹³ The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. ¹⁴ When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? ¹⁵ “We who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners’ ¹⁶ know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified. ¹⁷ “If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! ¹⁸ If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker. ¹⁹ For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. ²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. ²¹ I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

The doctrine of grace is absolutely unique to Christianity and absolutely essential -- as Paul's strong preaching indicates.   From start to finish and everywhere in between, salvation is by grace alone.

You can compare salvation to running a race. In fact, Paul does just that in Galatians:

⁷ You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?

Let's look at how grace is the essential element in the beginning of the race of life, during the race, and at the end of the race of life.

1.  First, Grace is the essential STARTING LINE of
     salvation.  Salvation has a BEGINNING

In chapter 2 of Galatians, Paul uses a technical term borrowed from the Roman court system (and also Jewish law) to describe what takes place when we are first saved.  I read earlier Paul's admonishment to Peter, but I'll read it again because it is important:

¹⁵ “... a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.

Throughout this passage (and throughout the Books of Romans and Galatians, among other places) the Word describes the process of salvation as "being justified." 

To understand "justification" you must understand the word, "charis, or grace."  Grace means favor that is completely undeserved and brings great happiness and benefit.  Grace is an absolute free gift.

Paul helps us understand what grace is by contrasting it with what grace is not.  In verse 6 Paul says that the false teachers were "turning to a different gospel."  The word for different here is "HETEROS," which was a technical term mean "another of a different kind," as opposed to the word, "allos," meaning another of the same kind.  Eventually, this distinction was lost, but Paul is using it in the more technical sense to contrast a "salvation by grace" with a different salvation that was by "works."

Then, throughout Galatians Paul uses the word, "justification" to sum up the whole of the process of salvation by grace. Look at verse 2:15 again,

¹⁵ “... a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.

Justification is the "starting line" of salvation.  It is a technical taken from the court system that refers to a judge pronouncing a person, "not guilty."  More technically it means, "no longer under the penalty of a crime."

The process of justification begins when God in His Sovereign love "chooses" to save a man, woman, or child.  God first applies the blood of Christ to a person's life and cleanses, or removes the stain of sin.  Then, once the payment has been made for sin and the slate of man's soul is clean, God then "imputes" the righteousness of Christ to that person's life, and by grace, that person is pronounced "no longer guilty." In the eyes of God the Judge, a person is judged not by his or her "good works," but only by the good work of Christ on the cross.  Justification comes as a result of God's grace.  The beginning of salvation is actually like two sides of a coin.

One side we will call, regeneration.  The old dead soul of a sinner must be given new life.  This is what regeneration means:  re, that is again, and generate, which means to be born.  Regeneration means, being born again.

But, this only wipes the slate clean.  Even when the soul is given new life, the penalty would still remain unless it was removed.  That is what "justification" does.  It takes the clean soul and "imputes" or declares that soul, "no longer guilty."  Sometimes justification is used narrowly to refer to the imputing of righteousness, or broadly as in this text for the entire process of the beginning of grace.  Never use the cliche that justification means, "just as if one never sinned."  That is incorrect.  Even after we accept the Lord, we are still sinners.  But, God in His position as Supreme Judge of the Universe, throws down His gavel and declares, "no longer under the penalty of sin."  This puts us in a state of righteousness.  Because of the righteousness of Christ, by the grace of God we are declared "righteous before God."  Regeneration takes away the curse of sin, and justification replaces it with the righteousness of God -- all without you or I doing one thing to add to the process.

The Word describes this process of salvation in 2Cor 5:21: God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Paul uses the word, "justification," to describe the entire process of removing sin's stain (curse) and "imputing" Christ's righteousness.

This is the "starting line" of salvation:  justification by the grace of God and not by the works of the flesh.

2.  The Finishing Line.  Salvation has and END.

Now, I want to jump ahead to the "Finish Line."  Every race has a finish line, a goal toward which all the participants are heading.  The starting line would be meaningless without a finish line.  I want to jump forward to the finish line before I talk about actually running the race of a grace-filled life, because knowing the goal, or purpose, for salvation -- like any race -- determines how well we run the race.

Running without knowing where the finish line is may give you great exercise, but it will probably not help you win the race.

One description of running without a clear goal or objective is a "rat race."  Take hamsters for example.  In a cage they run the "rat race." Over a lifetime they log thousands of miles running on the wheel--but never finish a race -- much less win one.  Fortunately, God gave them such feeble minds that they don't seem to care.

Not so with us.  God has given us a keen mind and an ambitious heart.  We want to do more than enter the "rat race."  We want to do more than log a few hundred miles riding the wood of the church.  I borrow that term from my baseball days.  Riding the wood meant you weren’t in the game, but were watching from the bench.  Other than being glorified cheerleaders, benchwarmers never mattered much to the game.  Most of us want our lives to matter.  We want to do more than ride the wood.  We want to finish our lives with a sense of accomplishment.  I'd say most of us really want something more out of life than waiting to die. 

So, where is the "finish line" of salvation and how does grace get us there?  In a word, the finish line is, "heaven."  One of the sweetest words to the human ear.  It is what every Christian heart longs for. 

The hymn-writer, John Newton, knew how important grace was to gaining entrance into heaven.  The third stanza of the beloved hymn, Amazing Grace, says:

Thro' many dangers, toils, and snares,  // I have already come.
Tis' grace hath brot me safe thus far, // And grace will lead me home.

Not every person believes in heaven but certainly every believer longs to see heaven someday.  Except for a skeptical few, all people long for the beauty and bliss of living in such a glorious place as heaven after we die.  Well, everyone but Kayse, maybe.  Kayse was five years old.  She had a little brother named, Jayme.  He was three years old.  He adored his older sister and followed her everywhere.  Kindergarten was to start in about a week or so.  Kayse’s gleamed with excitement when she thought of starting kindergarten.  Kindergarten occupied almost all her thoughts as the days ticked off until the first day of school.  On the Sunday before the first day of school, when Kayse returned home from church, she fell and skinned her knee.  As she whimpered over her injury, her little brother, Jayme, tried to comfort her.  With his sweet three years old theology Jayme said, “Don’t worry Kayse; if you die you’ll go to heaven.”  Kayse cried even louder saying, “I don’t want to go to heaven.  I want to go to kindergarten!”

That’s the first time I recall someone preferring school over heaven.  We all have visions of what heaven will be like, but most of us lack the right words to describe it.  I may not be able to describe heaven but of this I am absolutely sure:  it will exceed our greatest, wildest imagination.  The Word says (1Cor. 2:9),

No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceive, what God has prepared for those who love him”

I am so thankful getting to heaven doesn’t depend on my works.  If crossing the finish line into heaven depended upon our good works, we'd miss heaven by a mile.  But, it doesn't.  The "finish line," just like the "starting line" is all about grace.  2Tim. 4:18 tells us,

¹⁸ The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom.

The word for "rescue," means, "to bring someone out of severe and acute danger."   The words, "will bring me safely to His kingdom,"  are translated from the future tense of the word, "To save."

Just like salvation has a "past tense" when we were "justified," it has a "future tense" when we will finally be "glorified" by being brought into the Presence of God.  The same grace that gets us started, guarantees we will cross the finish line.  From start to finish and everywhere in between, salvation is by grace alone.

3.  The Race.  Salvation has a MIDDLE

Now, let's turn our minds to thinking about the "in between" of the race of life.  Grace gets us started.  Grace guarantees we will finish; but, what about the present race of life.   Let's look back at the text we started with this morning.  Galatians 1:6 says:

⁶ I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— ⁷ which is really no gospel at all.

The Word makes it absolutely and unquestionably clear:  there is only one way of salvation; that is by GRACE, and grace alone.  Any other way is a lie and "no gospel at all." 

Here's the point.  It is not enough to trust God's grace to "start your salvation," or to trust God's grace to finish your salvation; you must trust God's grace to "work out your salvation here and now."  Paul declared that there is only one salvation, by grace.  It is not part grace and part good works.  Salvation is all grace or "no salvation at all."

As Christians we submit ourselves to more heartache and more anxiety by trying to live by religious rules rather than by grace.  It didn't work for the Nation of Israel, and it won't work for you.  You need God's grace -- His unmerited favor -- to live a life that pleases Him and blesses you.

You simply cannot attain favor with God by doing good works.  Paul said to the Colossians, (2:6)

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord,

continue to live in him.

How do we receive salvation?  By grace.  Then how do we continue in salvation?  By grace.  You can never achieve favor with God through following religious rules or practicing “good works.”  You will only be frustrated in this life and split hell wide open when you die.  To live a life of faith requires God's grace ... PERIOD! 

When we discussed the beginning of salvation we used the word, "justification."  One side of our conversion experience deals with "eliminating the penalty" for our sins.  The other side of conversion is "justification," which means God also "imputes" to us a positive righteousness.  It is Christ's righteousness we receive by grace that empowers holy living.  We cannot attain righteousness on our own.

So, how do get this "imputed righteousness" working in our lives so we can glorify God and do genuine "good works?" It's as simple as "dying."  Gal. 2:20-21 says,

 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. ²¹ I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

We are crucified with Christ when we are daily taking up our cross in obedient living.  We are receiving the "righteousness of God in Christ" when we are "putting off the old life of flesh and putting on the new life of the Spirit."  Colossians says it this way:

"Put to death what ever belongs
to your earthly nature."  (Col. 3:5).

We do this by staying in constant contact with God through prayer and the reading of His Word; through fellowship with the saved, and service to the lost. We receive grace by keeping the flow of God's life into ours by breathing in His spirit and breathing out service to others.

We do good works not so we can BE SAVED, but because we ARE SAVED.  In fact, only a saved person can actually do good works.  Without God's empowering grace, even our good works are "like filthy rags" (Isa. 64:6) -- but that's another message altogether.

Warren Buffet is the second richest man in the world.  A couple years ago he made the declaration that he would donate 85% of his $44 billion dollars fortune.  For those trying to do the math, that amounts to about $37.4 billion!  This means, he would have to survive for the rest of his life on just under $7 billion dollars.  The media was all abuzz over his announcement.  It is a generous gift to be sure.  When asked about his extreme level of generosity, Buffet replied, “There is more than one way to get to heaven, but this is a great way.”  Well, Buffet is certainly a great businessman, but a very lousy theologian.  There is only one way to get to heaven and that is grace.  No amount of giving can purchase a place around God’s table.

Grace is the complete package:  justification, sanctification, and glorification.  Beginning to Finish, it is all about God's empowering grace.

You can't buy it.  You can't earn it.  You can't take it by force.  You can only receive God's grace as the free gift that it is.  Only by throwing yourself on the altar of complete surrender can you ever hope to gain God's favor and the salvation that favor brings.

From beginning to end and all points in between, salvation is by grace.  It is God’s glorious gift to you and I.  Have you accepted this gift?  If not, you should do so today.