SAVED BY GRACE!

 

SAVED BY GRACE -- 

SAVED BY GRACE 

      AS SHOCKING AS IT MAY SOUND, NOT ONE IN ONE HUNDRED

        CHRISTIANS UNDERSTAND WHAT BEING SAVED BY GRACE 

         REALLY MEANS. IN THIS ARTICLE THE TRUTH WILL

                        BE MADE PLAIN

                                     

                              by 

                           Keith Hunt

     "For by GRACE are you saved through faith, and not of

yourselves, it is the GIFT of God.." Many will quote this verse

of Eph.2:8 and tell you the law of God has been abolished. 

     But Jesus answered the young man who asked Him how he might

have eternal life, by saying, "IF YOU WILL ENTER INTO LIFE, KEEP

THE COMMANDMENTS" (Mat.19:17). 

     Many say LAW and GRACE do not mix! Is that true? How can we

reconcile what Christ said to the rich young man, and what Paul

wrote to the Ephesians? Was Jesus and Paul of different opinions

as to HOW a person is SAVED?

     The way of Salvation can be understood - your Bible makes it

PLAIN - here then is the truth of HOW YOU can have eternal life.

                      ALL OF GOD'S WORD

     The verse in Eph.2:8 is an inspired part of God's revelation

to man - but so also is Mat.19:17 ! Do you believe what Paul

wrote to the Ephesian church? Do you believe what Jesus said to

the young man? If you believe that the Bible is INSPIRED, your

answer must be a resounding YES!

     Jesus said elsewhere that the scripture cannot be BROKEN -

in other words, there cannot be any CONTRADICTIONS in the word 

of God. The verse, "For by grace are you saved" is true - very true.

No one can save themselves by their WORKS. You can work, perform,

DO THINGS for a thousand life times, and still you will never

WORK your way into eternal life. Your WORKS, of themselves, will

NOT save you.

     God's salvation is a gift - it comes by the way of GRACE

through faith. But can God's grace be turned into something He

never intended? Yes indeed! Jude wrote towards the end of the

first century A.D. that, "....when I gave all diligence to write

unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write

unto you, and exhort you that you should earnestly contend for

the faith that was ONCE DELIVERED unto the saints (even BEFORE

the end of the first century the way of salvation was being corrupted)  

for there are CERTAIN MEN crept in UNAWARES( they looked like 

Christians but were deceivers)....UNGODLY men (not speaking the truth 

of God's word ) TURNING (changing, doing something other than what 

God intended) the GRACE of God into LASCIVIOUSNESS (a license 

to sin)...." verse 3,4.

     God's grace was being ABUSED, twisted, turned into something

other than what God  said it was.

                    SOMETHING YOU CAN EARN!

     Salvation comes as a GIFT - by grace - given to us by the

Father. Our works, our deeds cannot EARN us the right to eternal

life. But there is something we can most definitely EARN - by

what we have performed. 

     Turn to Rom.6:23 and read there what it is we can EARN, "For

the wages(the payment we are rightly due because we've  worked

for it) of SIN is DEATH....."  What we have earned by sinning is

DEATH - that is the eternal death, the SECOND death

(Rev.20:4-~6,14-15), from which there is no resurrection.

     Again the last part of verse 23 says that eternal life is God's 

FREE gift -  His to give to us - not something we can demand 

because we've earned it.

                        WHAT IS SIN?

     We can earn by sin - DEATH! The next question we should ask

and answer is "what IS sin?" What does God say sin is? Does He

define it for us, or is it left to us to decide what sin is?

     The word of God does define sin for us. The Bible definition

is - never forget this verse - 1 Jn.3:4,  "Whosoever commits SIN

transgresses also the LAW: for sin IS the transgression of the

LAW."

     Now what law is John speaking about? Paul answers, "....I

had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known LUST,

except the law had said, YOU SHALL NOT COVET " (Rom.7:7).

     What law contains the command "you shall not covet"? Why,

the TEN commandment law of EX.20. The marginal reference of 

many Bibles will, for verse 7, take you to the Ten Commandments in

Exodus 20.

     James further testifies that if we break only ONE of these

commands of God, we are guilty - we become a transgressor - 

we SIN!  "For whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend 

in one point, he is guilty of all. For He that said, do not commit

adultery, also said, do not kill. Now if you commit no adultery,

yet if you kill, you have become a transgressor of the law"

(James 2:10,11).

                       WHO HAS SINNED?

     Sin then is breaking any one of God's TEN commandments, as

amplified by  Jesus Christ and the entire word of God (see Jesus'

amplification of the law in Mat.5 - 7). Has anyone kept the law of

God completely perfectly - so no sin was incurred? Yes! Speaking

about Jesus Christ, Paul wrote, that He was tempted like we all

are, but He never sinned - not once (Heb.4:15).

     What about the rest of mankind? Are only some sinners while

the rest are not? The Psalmist wrote, "The Lord looked down from

heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that

did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they

are ALL together filthy: there is NONE that does good, no, NOT

0NE" (Ps.14:2,3).

     Paul translates this passage as, "There is NONE righteous,

no not one (righteousness is defined as all God's commandments -

Ps.1l9:172). - there is none that understands, there is none that

seeks after God ..... there is none that does good, no not one"

(Rom.3:10-l2).

     God inspired Paul in verse 23 of this third chapter of

Romans to write, "For AII HAVE SINNED, and come short of the

glory of God." Earlier in this chapter Paul had stated, "...for

we have before proved both Jew and Gentile, that they are ALL

under sin" (verse 9).

     

     All mankind has sinned - the only exception was Jesus

Christ. He only of all humans was without sin. He alone has kept

the law of God completely perfectly - all the rest have broken

that law - have SINNED - have earned the wages of sin - DEATH.

                      CUT OFF FROM GOD

     God is HOLY (1 Pet.1:15,16). He is PERFECT (Mt.5:48).  

His very nature and character  is  that  of  perfection.   GOD the

Father and Christ Jesus are RIGHTEOUS  (1 Jn.3:7) - there is NO

sin in them at all (v.5).

     God's law is PERFECT (Ps. 19:7). His commandments are

RIGHTEOUSNESS (Ps.119:172). God's righteousness is FOREVER

(Ps.111:3). To sin, as we have seen is to BREAK, go against the

very character of God - His perfect HOLY, SPIRITUAL law

(Rom.7:12,l4).

     The Father and Son have never sinned, but the rest of mankind, 

all mankind - YOU and I, have sinned - have broken that perfect and 

holy law. What has this sinning of ours done to our relationship with 

the Father ?

     God answers us through the prophet Isaiah, "Behold, the

Lord's hand is not shortened, that it can not save, neither His

ear heavy, that it can not hear, BUT your INIQUITIES (our sins)

have SEPARATED between you and your God, and your SINS have 

hid His face from you, that He will not hear" (Isa.59:1-2).

     Our sins have cut us off from God - we stand condemned to

DEATH, our wicked deeds, our WORK of sin has earned for us the

wages of death. But God the Father is a God OF LOVE (1 Jn.4:8).

Although we deserve to die, He loves us - He wants to SAVE

us from death. The Father, even before the foundation of the

World,  knew mankind would sin, and so He planned HOW man 

could be rescued from the penalty of sin - death. God had determined 

to save us, not according to OUR WORKS, but according to His own

purpose (plan) and GRACE, which was given us in Christ Jesus

BEFORE THE WORLD BEGAN (2 Tim.l:9). God had determined
to buy us back from death through His very own Son - and this plan 

of redemption was formulated before the world was founded

(1 Pet.1:19,20). God is so wonderful and merciful that He gave

His only begotten SON, that whosoever believes in Him should NOT

PERISH, but have EVERLASTING LIFE (John .3: 16).

     

     Sin - our sins, have separated us from God - have cut us off, 

but there is a way we can be reconciled - the Father has made a way 

possible by which our sins can be forgiven, and the death sentence 

taken away from us.

                      GOD'S CALL TO MANKIND

     The first step to salvation that we must do is to respond to

the CALL of God, "For the promise (of forgiveness of sins) is unto

you, and to your children, and to all that are far off, even as

many as the Lord our God shall CALL" (Acts 2:39).  What does God

CALL OUT? Paul tells us, "And the times of this ignorance God

winked at, BUT NOW commands all men everywhere to REPENT" 

(Acts 17:30). Jesus said, "I tell you....except you REPENT, you shall

all likewise PERISH" ( Luke 1 3:5).

     

     God inspired Isaiah to write, "Seek you the Lord while He

may be found, call upon Him while He is near: Let the wicked

FORSAKE HIS way, and the un- righteous man his thoughts: and let

him RETURN unto the Lord, and He will have MERCY (grace) upon 

him, and to our God, for He will abundantly PARDON" (Isa.55:2,7). 

On the day of PENTECOST, Peter cried out to the people, "REPENT 

(be broken up over being sinners, change your way of life) and be

BAPTIZED  every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, FOR the

REMISSION (the forgiveness) of SINS..."  (Acts 2:38).

     A little later Peter again shouted, "REPENT you therefore,

and be CONVERTED (be charged, be turned into something different)

that (in order that) your SINS may be blotted out" (Acts 3:19).

We are sinners - sin has cut us off from God - we are under the

sentence of death. But God says if we REPENT of being sinners -

if we are willing to CHANGE, to be converted to His thoughts and

ways, our sins can be FORGIVEN - blotted out of the book of death,

so to speak.

     

     Listen again to what God calls out to us through the apostle

John, "If we CONFESS our sins, He is faithful and just to FORGIVE

us our sins, and to cleans us from all unrighteousness"  (1 Jn.l:9).

     Another time, "He that covers his sins shall not prosper:

but whosoever CONFESSES and FORSAKES  them shall have MERCY"

(Prov.28:13) .

     Just as a MURDERER on death row must show by a humble,

contrite, repentant attitude, he is broken up over what he has

done, and never wants to commit that crime again, if he is to

stand any chance of obtaining MERCY or GRACE, so it is with us

before God. We must show God that we have repented of our

transgression of His holy law - that we want to CHANGE our way

of life to conform to His way. Upon manifesting that attitude, God

says He will show us MERCY - our sins will be blotted out -

FORGIVEN.

     And just as the murderer on death row cannot possibly EARN

his forgiveness by his repentant attitude, or anything he can do

after he has murdered, so with us. Our repentance does not,

cannot EARN our forgiveness with God. It is merely a CONDITION

that the Father lays down in order for us to receive His free pardon 

of our sins.

     

     When rightly understood, even the ability to come to

repentance is a gift from God. As no one can come to Christ,

accept Him as Savior, UNLESS the Father DRAWS him with His

Spirit. You will see this truth by reading these scriptures: 

John 6:44,65; 16:13; 2 Tim..2: 24-26.

     We do have our part to do - we must HUMBLE ourselves - 

have the proper kind of respectful fear of God (Isa. 66:2) and then

God will look to us - give to us as one of His gifts the ability

to REPENT which in turn leads to the forgiveness of our sins

through faith in Christ Jesus.

                      WHAT IS GOD'S GRACE?

     It is written, "....the Lord is GRACIOUS...." (Ps. 111:4).

The word  "grace'' can have manifold meanings. The WORLD BOOK

DICTIONARY gives a long passage as to the various meanings of the

word "grace."  But in connection with THEOLOGY they say,

"God's free and UNDESERVED favor to and love for mankind....."

They also state grace is, "MERCY, CLEMENCY, PARDON, 

FORGIVENESS."

     If someone has done you WRONG and justice would demand 

they pay the prescribed penalty for his their wrong actions, but you

have compassion on them and put aside the right to exercise the

justice of the law, you have shown CLEMENCY, you have had 

MERCY, you have granted PARDON, you have been GRACIOUS, 

shown GRACE to the wrong doer. Grace or mercy is a quality of 

character that comes from a person, where he could just as easily 

demand the penalty of the law be enforced.

      Being shown grace - being under grace, does not mean you

are in a condition of being free to henceforth live as you please, 

and break with  impunity the laws of the land. The murderer, 

being shown grace or forgiveness is not free to just go out and 

murder again - of course not!  Why, the law enforcement

agencies have no problem understanding what GRACE is - 

but some theologians and professing Christians have a terrible 

time in understanding the grace of God.   

     The grace of God is an ATTRIBUTE, quality of CHARACTER  - 

one of the many qualities of God. It is the ability of God to

forgive sin - to blot out the sins of any person - to show mercy

- undeserved favor in not claiming the justice of the law, to be

carried out on that person - which for us would mean eternal

death.

     But as God's law is ETERNAL and stands fast FOREVER

(Ps.111:7,8) and as the penalty or wages for breaking that law is

death, the law must be satisfied. If God could have taken His

magic wand and said, "law be gone, be no more"  then there would

be NO TRANSGRESSION, "for where no law is, there is no

transgression" (Rom.4:15). You cannot get a speeding ticket if

there is no law to tell you that you must not go over a certain

speed. If God's law has at any point in time been "done away" or

"nailed to the cross" then nobody from that time on has sinned -

for sin is the transgression of the law. And so a  savior would

not have been needed.

     The TRUTH is - God's law, has never been abolished, so the

penalty of breaking it must be satisfied - it must be paid.

     

     We  have all sinned - we are under the law’s penalty, which

is death. God says there is a way to get out from under that

death sentence. The first step is to REPENT of sinning - to

repent of breaking the law of God. But the death penalty must be

satisfied. The next step of God's plan now comes into play.

                    HOW WE ARE JUSTIFIED

     A word that is used many times in the Bible, especially in the 

New Testament with reference to, and in connection with

salvation, is the word JUSTIFICATION or JUSTIFY. Again to 

many this word is nebulous - they don't really understand what it

means. A few minutes spent with a DICTIONARY will clarify 

its meaning.

     The word means and denotes the act of pronouncing RIGHTEOUS,

acquitting persons of guilt, to clear of blame or guilt. A person who 

has been JUSTIFIED has been acquitted or released from the

penalty of his error. It is as if he had never been guilty of any wrong doing - 

he stands innocent - FORGIVEN - no penalty hangs over him.  

     We have seen that we stand as SINNERS - the law claims our lives - 

death is the sentence. That penalty must be paid - the law is UNMOVABLE. 

But God has provided a way by which we can escape that death penalty.  

He planned that His very own Son would come and die for us, in our place. 

It is as if the son of the judge of the land, who is about to enforce the death

sentence on all murderers, came forward and said he would die in their stead - 

he would bear the penalty of death, so the law that was broken could be 

satisfied and the murderers could be declared innocent - righteous, forgiven 

of any crime - JUSTIFIED.

     That is the way it is with God, the judge of the universe,

His Son Jesus Christ, His perfect law, the penalty for breaking

that law, and us the sinners who have transgressed that law and

have incurred the sentence of death. We may have repented, but

the law must be satisfied.

     So Paul wrote, "Being JUSTIFIED (declared righteous -

forgiven) FREELY (not something we can earn, or claim we 

have a right to because of some good work we've done) by His

GRACE (undeserved pardon) through the REDEMPTION 

(the buying back or redeeming power) that is in Christ Jesus. 

Whom God hath set forth (it was planned as we've seen before 

the world began) to be a PROPITIATION (an atoning sacrifice) 

through FAITH (believing and trusting the way God said it would be) 

in His blood (His death on the cross) to declare His righteousness 

for the REMISSION (passing over or blotting out) of SINS  that are 

PAST (the grace of God does not give us a blanket  forgiveness of 

sins we may commit in the future) through the  forbearance of God" 

(Rom.3:24-25).

     Again Paul wrote, "For we ourselves also were sometimes

foolish, DISOBEDIENT, deceived, serving different lusts and

pleasures..... But after the kindness and love of God our Savior

towards man appeared. Not by WORKS of righteousness which 

we have done (there's no deed we could possibly do to release us 

from the death penalty) but according to His MERCY He saved 

us (from sure death) which He shed on us abundantly through 

Jesus Christ our Savior. That being JUSTIFIED by His GRACE, 

we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life" 

(Titus 3:3-7).

     

     The man about to die for the crime of murder can live

perfectly - he can obey the laws of the land completely - he can

do all manner of GOOD DEEDS - but none of them can erase the

sentence of death hanging over him. He can only escape death by

being shown MERCY or GRACE by the powers that be.

     God has made our justification - our acquittal from guilt

possible through the death of His Son. We must believe - have

faith - trust in God that truly Jesus' death in our stead, satisfies the 

law's demand and we are declared sinless - RIGHTEOUS.

     And as Paul says, "Where is boasting then? It is excluded 

(we cannot boast we did some deed to have to make God forgive us).

By what law? of WORKS? No! but by the law of faith. Therefore we

conclude that a man is JUSTIFIED by faith without the deeds 

of the law" (Rom.3:27,28).

     Paul in writing to the Christians at Rome about Salvation

and Justification, had to combat the Gentle and Jewish doctrine

of justification by WORKS or DEEDS. The Jewish sects believed

that being physically circumcised in the flesh, observing certain

ritualistic ordinances, performing animal sacrifices, and the

like, would get you in right standing with God - that certain

WORKS would justify you. The Gentile religions had similar

beliefs. They held that by punishing the physical body, going

through certain ceremonies, sacrificing animals, they could

please their gods and acquire forgiveness of sins. Paul explains

this was not the way God planned to JUSTIFY mankind from sin.

     

It was not the way of EARNING your forgiveness but a matter

of God Himself through His Son, coming in the form of man, being

made flesh and dying for the sins of the whole world - taking the

death penalty upon Himself, so all mankind could be made free

from the penalty of the law.

     It was a simple matter of how God had planned it and faith

in that promise of His. Faith in the fact Jesus died for us. Upon

our REPENTANCE and acceptance of the death of Christ in our 

stead - the acceptance of Him as our PERSONAL Savior, God 

would forgive us our sins - would declare us righteous, sinless in 

His eyes. We would be JUSTIFIED - and that by GRACE through 

FAITH.

To be continued (written in 1984)

SAVED BY GRACE----

ONE MAN DIES FOR ALL?

     It may be asked at this juncture, "How can the death of just

ONE man forgive the sins of millions upon millions of human

beings?"

     What many do not realize is the fact that, the Jesus of the

New Testament was the God of the Old Testament. Jesus was the one

who made the physical universe - who made all the things that are

recorded in the first chapter of Genesis - the one who formed

man and breathed into him the breath of life. The Jesus of the

Gospels was the one who talked to Abraham, who wrestled with

Jacob, who called and delivered Israel out of Egypt.

This same Jesus who died on the cross is the one who wrote with

His finger the 10 commandments to Israel.

     Paul tells us that  God the Father, "Has in these last days

spoken unto us by His Son..... BY WHOM HE MADE THE WORLDS"

(Heb.1:2).  ALSO in Col.1:16 we read, "For by Him(the Son -

Christ - v.13-15) were ALL THINGS created, that are in heaven and

that are in earth, ALL THINGS here created by HIM....." 

Jesus told the Jews that He had seen Abraham - they laughed at

Him( Jn.8: 56-57 ). He said to them, "Truly, I say unto you,

before Abraham was born I was the I AM spoken of in Scripture"

(v.58 paraphrased). See EX.3:13-14.

     Christ existed before all things - He WAS and IS and is to

COME (Rev.1:8). He WAS WITH God and WAS God from the

beginning (Jn.1:1-2,14). He was the second person of the Godhead -

the LOGOS or WORD - the spokesman. Jesus Christ was that

spiritual ROCK that followed the Israelites (1 Cor.10:4).

     Because Jesus was the very God (in the main) we read about

in the Old Testament - the CREATOR of all life - His life is

worth more than all the human lives that have ever existed or

will exist.  That's why His ONE DEATH can forgive all the sins

ever committed by all mankind.

                DOES GRACE AND FAITH MAKE VOID

                                          THE LAW?

     Because no amount of good deeds or WORKS - no amount of

perfect law keeping can earn you God's grace or make up for past

sins - because our sins can only be blotted out by the blood of

Christ - as our justification from a guilty past is through the

death of Jesus - as it is our faith in His sacrifice that cleanses us 

from sin - does this FAITH mean we do not have to OBEY God 

or serve His holy law?

     Paul was the man God inspired to preach and write so much on

JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH, let's let him answer our question.

"Do we then make VOID the law through faith?  God FORBID!  

No we ESTABLISH the law" (Rom 3:31).

     Our man on death row for murder, who finds that the son of

the judge has died for him so he need not die, is thankful for

the GRACE and LOVE shown to him. He has FAITH in the sacrifice 

of the son - he knows he is now justified. BUT he also knows he

cannot just go out and murder again - he knows the law is still

in force against such a crime. The law that says "you shall not

murder" has not been made void because he was justified freely 

by GRACE through the redeeming power of the son.

     As Paul builds up his case for the teaching of justification by faith, 

through the death of God's Son Jesus (Rom.4 and 5) and not by any 

works that we can perform - a natural question would arise: 

"What shall we say then, shall we CONTINUE IN SIN, that

GRACE may ABOUND?" Or as the PHILLIPS translation puts it, 

"Now what is our response to be, shall we SIN to our HEART'S 

CONTENT and see how far we can EXPLOIT the grace of God?" 

(Rom.6:1).

     "If God's grace is so free and wonderful," the question may

be put, "and sin can only be blotted out by undeserved

forgiveness, should we not go out and sin even more, so God can

bestow more and more grace upon us, and so His love and mercy can

be manifested even still more abundantly?"

     What is Paul's answer to such an idea as this? "GOD FORBID!"

or "WHAT A TERRIBLE THOUGHT" (Phillips Trans.). The FAITH 

we have in being forgiven of sin - the GRACE shown to us through the

death of Jesus, does NOT give us the LICENSE or freedom to sin to

our hearts content.

THE SAVIOR'S PURPOSE

     At this point we should ask another question: "Did Jesus

come to save us IN our sins, while we continue to live IN sin, or

did He come to save us FROM sin and its penalty?"

     When the angel announced to Joseph that Mary would be the

one to bear the very Son of God, he said, "And she shall bring

forth a son, and you shall call His name Jesus (which means

Savior) for He shall SAVE His people FROM their sins "

(Mat.1:21).

     Why was Christ manifested to the world - so the world could

be saved while continuing IN sin? NO! The Greek word "from" in

Mat.1:21 is APO and means "forth from, away from."

      NOTICE 1 JN. 3:5-10, "You know moreover, that Christ became

man to TAKE AWAY sin, and He Himself was free from sin. The man

who lives in Christ does not HABITUALLY sin. The REGULAR sinner

has never seen or known Him. You my children should not let

anyone deceive you. The man who lives a good life is a good man,

as surely as Christ is good. But a man whose life is HABITUALLY

sinful is spiritually a son of the devil, for the devil has been a sinner 

from the beginning. Now the Son of God came to the earth with the 

express purpose of undoing the devil's work. The man who is really 

God's son does not PRACTICE sin, for God's nature is in him, 

for good, and such a heredity is incapable of sin. Here we have a clear 

indication as to who are the children of God and who are the children 

of the devil" (Phillips translation).

      A true child of God - one who has been saved from sin - who has 

been JUSTIFIED by GRACE through FAITH - does not CONTINUE 

IN sin. He does not PRACTICE as an HABITUAL way of life, the works

of the devil  -  sin.

     

     The death of Jesus for the remission of sins, was also our death - 

He died in our stead - it was as if we had died. The Christian doctrine 

of BAPTISM pictures our death and resurrection in Christ Jesus.

     Paul, writing about NOT LIVING IN SIN a moment longer, now

that GRACE has been shown to us, said, "that all of us who were

baptized into Jesus Christ were, by that very action, sharing in

His death.  If we have, as it were, shared in His death, we shall

also share in His resurrection......And if we were dead men with

Christ we can believe that we shall also be men alive with Him.

He died  because of sin (the breaking of the law) once, He lives

for God forever. IN THE SAME WAY look upon yourselves 

(converted, justified Christians) as dead to the APPEAL  and  

POWER of sin but alive to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Do not then (today as baptized forgiven children of God) allow SIN 

to establish any power over your mortal bodies in making you give 

way to its lusts, but like men rescued from certain death, put yourselves 

in God's hands as weapons of good for His own purpose. For  SIN CAN

NEVER (now, today, or tomorrow) be your master - you are no longer

living under the law, but under grace" 

(Rom.6:3-14 Phillips - amplification mine).

     Jesus came to save us FROM sin - from its penalty - death, and 

from  its POWER over us. As we have been given a new lease on life by 

His sacrifice in our stead, and as He lives for God - doing His will, 

forever - so we too must be instruments in God's hands for His purpose 

and will, not the devil's. We are not to let SIN - the breaking of God's law - 

be our normal practice. Sin is not to have power and control over us.

                     NOT UNDER THE LAW ?

     Some have taken verse 14 of Romans chapter 6 to say you are

no longer under OBLIGATION TO OBEY the law of God. But if that

was true then we could break the law at our hearts content, for

sin as we have seen, is the breaking of God's law. If we can sin

as a way of life because we are no longer under obligation to

keep the law, then why did Paul spend so much time before verse

14 in telling the Romans not to let sin (disobedience to the law)

rule their lives. Is Paul CONTRADICTING himself in verse 14? 

Of course not!! Ye are now through JUSTIFICATION by GRACE no

longer under the CONDEMNATION of the law - no longer does the law

CONDEMN us to death for violating it. We have been made free from

its penalty by GRACE - undeserved pardon and we are not under the

law as a means of EARNING our justification - trying to perform

good works in order to claim God must justify us from sin.

     All the well know Bible Commentaries have so understood

verse 14. See such Commentators as: MATTHEW HENRY, ADAM 

CLARK, ALBERT BARNES, and more modern works like the 

WYCLIFFE and ABINGDON Bible Commentaries. 

             GRACE DOES NOT GIVE US LICENSE TO SIN

     Again I quote from the Phillips translation of Romans 6:15,

"Now what shall we do? Shall we go on sinning because we have no

law to CONDEMN us any more but are living under grace? NEVER!" 

Paul, clearly and plainly did NOT believe that the grace of God

gave us permission to willfully go on PRACTICING sin. Notice what

he said in verses 16-22., from the Phillips with my inserts-----

"Just think what it would mean. You (saved Christians)

belong (now, today) to the power which you choose to obey, whether

you choose SIN, whose reward is (still is) DEATH, or God,

obedience to whom means the reward of righteousness( eternal

life)."  Do you see ?  If we saved Christians return again to the

life of habitual sin, we would AGAIN come under the condemnation

of the law - DEATH.

     Let's continue, "Thank God that you, who were at one time

the servants of sin, honestly responded to the impact of Christ's

teaching when you came under its influence. Then released from

the service of sin (being forgiven by Christ's death) you entered

the service of RIGHTEOUSNESS (you repented and said you would 

walk in God's commandments - Ps.119:172).  For when you were 

employed by sin you owed no duty to righteousness. But now that you 

are freed from sin and employed by God, you owe no duty to sin, and

you reap (now, today) the fruit of being made righteous, while at the 

END OF THE ROAD is life for evermore."

     

     Being justified by GRACE puts us on the road - the beginning

of the road, of salvation. We are in a SAVED condition yes, but

we have not INHERITED eternal life - we are HEIRS of God, not 

yet INheritors (Rom.8:17). At the end of the road is eternal life.

We must walk that road all our lives until our death or Christ's

return, whichever comes first. If we deliberately, willfully -

with clear INTENT, turn from serving God, we come again under

condemnation and the death sentence of sin.

     

     Salvation is a PROCESS! There is no such doctrine taught in

the word of God as "once saved always saved". That doctrine is

FALSE - it is a lie - it has deceived tens of thousands into a

false salvation!

     LISTEN! Will you believe what the word of God plainly says?

"For if we SIN WILLFULLY after we have received the knowledge of

the truth, there remains NO MORE SACRIFICE FOR SINS. But a

certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation,

which shall devour the adversaries" ( Heb. 10: 26, 27 ) .

     Jesus our Savior said, "But he that shall ENDURE TO THE END,

the same shall be saved" (Mat.24:13). Again He said, "....He that

OVERCOMES shall not be hurt of the second death. He that

OVERCOMES, the same shall be clothed in white raiment, and

I will NOT BLOT HIS NAME OUT OF THE BOOK OF LIFE:...." 

(Rev.2:11; 3:5). So it is possible for a Christian to have his name 

blotted out of the book of life. If he does not endure to the end 

he will not be saved.

     The apostle James wrote, "BRETHREN, if any of YOU do ERR

from the TRUTH and one CONVERT him; Let him know, that he 

which converts the SINNER from the error of his way shall save a soul

from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins" (James 5:19,20).

     

     It is possible for a Christian to FALL AWAY from the TRUTH

for a time, and be helped back again to conversion by another

Christian? Obviously we have just read that James thought it could 

happen.

     Did the apostle Paul, a man who had experienced the great

MERCY of God, who had been justified - who was in a saved

condition, believe that it was now IMPOSSIBLE for him to "fall

away"? He wrote these words, "Not that I have become perfect yet:

I have NOT YET WON, but I am STILL RUNNING, trying to capture 

the prize for which Christ Jesus captured me. I can assure you my

brothers, I am FAR FROM THINKING I have already WON. 

All I can say is that I forget the past and I strain ahead for what is

still to come; I am racing for the FINISH, for the prize to which

God calls us upward to receive in Christ Jesus" (Phil.3:12-14,

Jerusalem Bible). 

      Paul knew that he had eternal life in him, because Christ

was in him through the Spirit (1 Jn.5:11-13), but he also knew he

was not yet an INHERITOR of eternal life - that prize was still

ahead of him. So what must he do until he inherited it? Be

careful - and as he said to the Philippians, "....work out your

own salvation with FEAR and TREMBLING" (chap.2:12). Do not 

get into a laxidazical attitude in your Christian life. We  must

constantly be putting on the whole armor of God to withstand the

darts of the devil, for he's always going about to see who he can

devour (Eph.6:10-18; 1 Pet.5:8).

     Did Paul believe it was possible for him to FALL WAY from

the grace of God?

"....But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection (he

was enduring and overcoming): lest that by any means, WHEN I HAVE

PREACHED TO OTHERS I MYSELF SHOULD BE A CAST AWAY" 

(1 Cor.9: 24-27, KJV).

     Paul did not believe in or teach any such idea as "once

saved always saved." The GRACE of God gives no one a license to

practice sin. If once we have REPENTED and been JUSTIFIED we

again turn back to be the servants of sin, we shall reap  what we CAN 

EARN  - death!  "Sin PAYS its servants - the wage is death. But God 

GIVES to those who serve Him: His FREE gift is eternal life through 

Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom.6:23 Phillips trans.). God will never let us go, 

but being in God, does not mean  our free agency has disappeared; 

we of our selves, our own freedom of mind, can walk away from God; 

we are not robots in Christ. The Father and Christ will not leave us, 

but we have the freedom to  leave them; hence we have the verses in the 

New Testament of the dire end result if we should leave God and Christ, 

and live again practicing sin as a way of life.

           A CHRISTIANS ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE LAW OF GOD

     What should be the attitude of a person who has come under

the GRACE of God, towards the law of the Lord? We may well ask:

what was Paul's attitude? What was John's attitude? What was

Peter's? What was James'? What was Jesus' attitude towards the

law of God? Did they think it something terrible - a bondage -

something to SHUN? After Paul had been justified he wrote, 

"Wherefore the Law is HOLY, and the commandment HOLY, and 

JUST, and GOOD..... I DELIGHT in the law of God after the inward 

man" (Rom.7:12,14).

      After James had come under the grace of God, he wrote

concerning the law, "But whoever looks into the PERFECT LAW 

OF LIBERTY, and continues in it, he being not a forgetful hearer,

but a DOER of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deeds''

(James 1:25). 

     John clearly tells us how we can KNOW that we KNOW the Lord,

"And HEREBY do we KNOW that we KNOW Him, IF we keep His

COMMANDMENTS. He that says, I know him, and keeps not His

commandments is a LIAR, and the TRUTH is not in him "

(1 Jn.2:3,4).

      Peter, after his conversion, speaking about Christ and sin,

wrote, "For even hereunto were you called; because Christ also

suffered for us, leaving us an EXAMPLE, that you should follow

His steps. WHO DID NO SIN" (1 Pet.2:21). Peter said Jesus never

sinned - never broke the law of God - and that was an example for

us to follow. WE are to have the attitude after being forgiven -

shown grace - of not wanting to sin again.

     

     The longest of all the Psalms - PS.119 - over and over again

extols the wonder and greatness of God's LAW - COMMANDMENTS -

STATUTES - PRECEPTS - and JUDGMENTS. Here is some of what is

written:  "Open you my eyes that I may behold wonderous things

out of your law.... I will delight myself in your commandments,

which I have loved.... O how love I your law, it is my meditation  all 

the day.... Rivers of water run down my eyes, because they keep not 

your law..... I have longed for your salvation, O Lord, and your law 

is my delight" (Ps.119:18,47,97,136,174).

     Jesus said,  "If any man love me, he will keep my words....

he that loves me not, keeps not my sayings: and the word which

you hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me"

(Jn.14:23,24). What was one of the sayings - words - of Jesus 

that came from the Father?  "but if you will ENTER (inherit - 

as the other Gospels translate the Greek) into life,  KEEP THE 

COMMANDMENTS" (Mat.19:17).  A Christian - a person 

under the grace of God - will LOVE the law of God and will, 

with his mind and inward attitude DELIGHT in it and want to 

serve it. For in this way we love God, for,  "this is the love of God, 

that we KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS: and His commandments 

are not  grievous" ( 1 Jn.5:3). 

             WILL GRACE BE GIVEN TO JUST ANYONE?

     Some say GRACE and LAW do not mix - cannot go together. Oh,

really! Now it is only possible to show MERCY or GRACE to someone

when a law has been broken and a penalty incurred. Will God

shower down His mercy upon just anyone, no matter what kind of

rotten, filthy, rebellious attitude they are in? Does God have

the right to lay down certain CONDITIONS to receiving His grace?

If so, what are those conditions?

     The very answer to those questions above, is given in the

very commandments of God that so many seem to hate and preach

against today. Speaking about not making  images to worship, God

says,  "for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the

iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and

forth generation of them that hate me. And  showing MERCY (grace -

forgiveness of sins) unto," NOTICE IT, "unto thousands of them

that LOVE me,"  we have seen already what loving God entails, 

"and KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS" (EX. 20:5,6).

     God does have the right to lay down CONDITIONS for receiving

His GRACE or MERCY. The condition is to love Him and be willing

to KEEP His law.

     Peter in Acts 3:19 put it this way, "REPENT you therefore

and be CONVERTED that your sins may be blotted out."  God will

grant you GRACE - forgiveness - justification - only upon

REPENTANCE - upon your willingness to change your way of serving

sin to the way of serving righteousness - His COMMANDMENTS (see

Isa. 55:6-9 and Ps.119:172).

     NOTICE Ps.103:17-18,  "But the MERCY (grace) of God is from

everlasting to everlasting upon,"  who, upon just anyone?   "upon

them that FEAR Him...." (read Isa.66:2 for an amplification of

Godly fear),  "to such as KEEP HIS COVENANT," (read about the 

new covenant WE must enter into with God in Heb.10:1-17)  "and to

those that REMEMBER His COMMANDMENTS to DO them."

     As we have already shown and proved, the keeping of the

commandments - the law - cannot EARN you forgiveness - the grace

of God. That is God's free GIFT, something He gives to you, that

you do not deserve. You deserve only to die. But God will have

mercy upon you IF you meet certain CONDITIONS.  In Ps. 103 

those conditions are listed as:

1) A Godly fear.  2) A willingness to enter His covenant.  3) To

remember His law to keep it.

     Now, understanding that God does lay down conditions for His

grace and what those conditions are, shows us WHY Paul wrote,

"For not the HEARERS of the law (those only that hear but will

not perform) are JUST (forgiven) before God, but the DOERS of 

the law (those who have repented of sin and are willing to serve the

law of God) SHALL BE JUSTIFIED" (Rom.2;13).

     Performing the law does not justify you, but only those who

are willing to keep it, will be justified or forgiven by God.

     Coming to have the attitude - purpose of mind - that you are

willing to obey the law is a CONDITION to receiving GRACE 

through FAITH. That is why James wrote:

"What is the use (profit), my brethren, for anyone to profess to

have faith if he has not (good) works (to show for it)?

Can (such)faith save (his soul)? If a brother or sister is poorly

clad and lacks food for each day, and one of you says to him,

Goodbye! Keep (yourself) warm and well fed, without giving him 

the necessities for the body, what good does that do? So also faith

if it does not have works (deeds and actions of obedience to back

it up), by its self is destitute of power - inoperative, dead.

But someone will say (to you then), You (say you) have faith and I

have (good) works. Now you show me your (alleged) faith apart

from any (good) works (if you can), and I by (good) works (of

obedience) will show you my faith. You believe that God is one,

you do well. So do the demons believe, and shudder (in terror and

horror such as makes a man's hair stand on end and contract the

surface of his skin)! Are you willing to be shown (proof), you

foolish, unproductive,  spiritually-deficient fellow, that faith,

apart from (good) works is inactive and ineffective and

worthless? Was not our forefather Abraham (shown to be)

justified - made acceptable to God - by (his) works when he

brought to the altar as an offering his (own) son Isaac?

(Gen.22:1-14). You see that (his) faith was co-operating with his

works, and this faith was complete, and reached its supreme

expression (when he implemented it) by (good) works. And so the

Scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed - adhered

to, trusted in and relied on - God, and this was accounted to him

as righteousness (as conformity to God's will in thought and

deed), and he was called God's friend. (Gen.15:6; Isa.41:8; 2

Chron.20:7). You see that a man is justified (pronounced righteous 

before God) through what he does and not alone through faith - 

through works of obedience as well as by what he believes. 

For as the human body apart from the spirit is lifeless, so faith

apart from (its) works of obedience is also dead" (James 2:14-26,

The Amplified Bible). 

     The MURDERER who is shown MERCY - grace - on condition that

he does not murder again, can be pardoned from his crime if he

accepts that condition and is willing to live in compliance with

the law.

     

     So likewise - God will be gracious to us on CONDITION that

we no longer practice as a way of life - sin (the breaking of

God's law).

     Now do you see why Jesus said to the rich young man, 

"....IF you will enter (inherit) into life KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS."

     God will only show GRACE (by which you are saved) to those

who REMEMBER His COMMANDMENTS to DO them (Ps.103:17-18).

To be continued (written 1984)         

SAVED BY GRACE #3

  AS SHOCKING AS IT MAY SOUND, NOT ONE IN ONE HUNDRED

    CHRISTIANS UNDERSTAND WHAT BEING SAVED BY GRACE 

      REALLY MEANS. IN THIS ARTICLE THE TRUTH WILL

                    BE MADE PLAIN

                      Part Three

                          by 

                       Keith Hunt

 IS IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR A CHRISTIAN TO SIN ? 

     

     God's grace towards a repentant sinner does not END with

that persons initial justification, as we shall now proceed to

prove.

     

     A person has REPENTED - he has confessed to God he is a

sinner - he's cried out to God for mercy. He sees that God has

made a way possible for him/her to be forgiven and have the

penalty of death removed. They see that Jesus Christ came and

paid that penalty for them - they accept Jesus as their PERSONAL

savior and are baptized. Their sins are now completely washed

away - they stand RECONCILED to God - sinless - absolutely

RIGHTEOUS in God's sight. Now from that day on, is it IMPOSSIBLE

for him/her to ever commit a sin ? They do not WANT to sin -

their whole attitude is to NOT sin - they want to serve and obey

God's commandments, but is it POSSIBLE under temptation and human

weakness of the flesh, to slip up and sin?

     

     Turn to 1 Jn.1:8. This verse plainly says, "If WE (converted

Christians) say that we HAVE NO SIN, we DECEIVE ourselves,  and

the truth is not in us."

     Spirit led, humble children of God, ones who desire to live

the way of God's love, which is His commandments - DO AT TIMES

SIN! If any say they do not, God's  word says they are deceived.

     

     Read the 7th chapter of Romans, and see how Paul explained

the battle that went on between his old sin lusting nature and

his now Spirit filled mind. He did not want to sin - he loved and

wanted to keep God law, but he found himself at times falling

short of that perfectness of God. He had to CRY OUT to God for

HELP and MERCY!

               HOW A CHRISTIAN IS FORGIVEN

     So a baptized - converted - Spirit filled Christian, can and

DOES SIN at times. The law has not been abolish as we have

previously proved - the wages of sin is still death. How then can

a Christian be FORGIVEN (be shown grace) of his sins this time?

Can he be forgiven by DOING some good work or deed? Can he go

about to EARN forgiveness? Does God add up all his good works and

law keeping and use them to cancel out his evil deeds? If that is the

case, then he would indeed be EARNING his way to eternal life and

salvation, and Eph. 2:8 would not be true.

     God does not leave us in any doubt as to HOW we as Christians 

walking along the salvation road, can obtain FORGIVENESS of sins 

that we may through weakness commit.

     Turn again to 1 Jn.1. We have read verse 8 which says we do

sin, now read verse 9, "If we CONFESS our sins, He is faithful

and just to FORGIVE us our sins, and to CLEANSE US from all

unrighteousness." We again turn to God in a REPENTANT attitude

- we confess to Him we have sinned. He sees our heart. He knows

we do not want to sin, that we desire to obey Him, to serve and

keep His law - He WILL FORGIVE US!  God will again show us grace,

because are still wanting to live within His law and the conditions 

He set down for us to qualify for His constant grace over us.

     Look at chapter 2 of 1 John and verses 1-2,  "My little children, 

these things I write unto you, that YOU SIN NOT."  Yes, our aim - 

our direction of mind is not to sin,  "And (but) if any man (does) sin, 

we have an ADVOCATE (an intercessor) with the Father, Jesus Christ 

the righteous." Jesus is in heaven pleading on our behalf before the 

Father.

     Continue, "And He is the PROPITIATION (the atoning sacrifice)

for OUR SINS" Yes - Jesus was RAISED AGAIN from the dead - 

raised for our CONTINUAL justification (Rom.4:25). We are not only

justified (forgiven of our past sins by the blood of Jesus, by His death - 

Rom.4:23-26) to RECONCILIATION with the Father by Christ, 

but He was raised again for our present day to day justification 

or forgiveness. He was raised to life so He could intercede for us.

      Upon our present repentance and confession of sin, God the

Father will accept the work Jesus is doing for us while in heaven

above seated at the right hand of the Almighty. The Father will

again and again (constantly) apply the BLOOD and SACRIFICE 

of His Son to us and cleanse us from our iniquities. 

     Turn to Hebrews the 4th chapter, verses 14-16. Read those

wonderful words of truth. Jesus Christ is our HIGH PRIEST in

heaven above. He is speaking on our behalf to the Father. He knows 

what it is like to be human. As a human He was tempted  to sin, 

but He did not sin, not once. Jesus really knows and understands 

the battle we face in overcoming sin. We can come  to the throne of 

GRACE when we do sin and ask for mercy.  

We shall obtain it.

     Now do you see the WONDER of all the great LOVE of the

Father? We do not have to try to amass more good works than bad,

more good thoughts than evil ones, so the good can cancel out the

bad. No amount of good works can blot out our sins. Our sins

during our Christian walk are washed away by the present work of

Jesus in heaven, by His atoning sacrifice, by His shed blood

being applied to them. Grace being again shown to us by the

Father. WE CANNOT EARN THAT MERCY BY ANY OF 

OUR GOOD WORKS!  It is God's to GIVE as His GIFT. 

But there are conditions  laid down for us to receive His free grace. 

Those conditions we  have previously shown you.

     As long as we maintain that attitude of REPENTANCE and

willingness to OBEY God, then He will through Christ Jesus,

FORGIVE us our sins.

               SAVED BY THE LIFE OF JESUS

     You have probably thought or been taught that Jesus' DEATH

on the cross COMPLETED salvation, that it WAS FINISHED at

Calvary. After all, didn't Jesus say, "it is finished" (Jn.19:30). 

But WHAT was finished on the cross? Let Paul answer, "For

all have sinned (broken God's law - 1 Jn.3:4) and come short of

the glory of God. Being JUSTIFIED (declared  righteous) freely by

His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom

God had set forth to be a propitiation (an atoning- sacrifice)

through faith in His blood (death on the cross) to declare His

righteousness for the remission (forgiveness) of sins that are

PAST....." (Rom.3:23-25 KJV, amplification mine).

     The sinner upon REPENTANCE, accepting Jesus as his personal

savior, can have ALL PAST SINS - sins up to that very moment -

FORGlVEN, washed away by the blood of Jesus on the cross.

     Christ's DEATH secured our justification from the sins we

HAVE ALREADY committed. His DEATH took away the penalty we  

had incurred by our sins (Rom.6:23). What Jesus finished on the cross

was the sacrifice for our PAST sins to justification and reconciliation 

with the Father.

     

     Listen friends, this may shocks some of  you, but the truth

of the matter is that it takes BOTH the  DEATH and LIFE of Christ

to SAVE you. If Jesus had only died and had never been raised to

life, you could never be saved, you would never inherit eternal life - 

you would be dead in your sins!

     

     Read these verses in your own Bible - mark them, and never

forget them:  "And if Christ be not RISEN, then is our preaching

vain, and your FAITH IS VAIN ALSO.....if Christ be not RAISED,

your FAITH IS VAIN - you are yet IN YOUR SINS!!  Then they

also which are fallen asleep in Christ ARE PERISHED" 

(1 Cor.15:14,17,18. KJV). 

     If Jesus is not alive - if He was not RESURRECTED, we are yet 

in our sins!  We are yet sinners - doomed to perish. The death of Jesus 

is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY for salvation, but so is His LIFE! 

     

      It takes not only His death but His LIFE also to save you.

     

     Now how much of that part of the gospel have you heard? 

You hear a lot about the death of Jesus - His blood shed to cleanse

your guilty past - but how much do you hear about His LIFE to

cleanse your present and future sins? Christ is NOW upon the

Father's right hand in heaven INTERCEDING for us, so the Father

will daily forgive us our sins. That is why Paul wrote, "For if, when 

we were enemies,  we were RECONCILED to God by the DEATH 

of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we SHALL BE SAVED 

by His LIFE" (Rom 5:10). 

     Then we also read in chapter 8:9-11,  "Now if any man has

not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His....But if the Spirit

of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that

raised up Christ from the dead shall also QUICKEN (make alive)

your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwells in you."

     When Jesus shall RETURN - when God the Father sends Him back

to this earth, WE the children of God shall be LIKE HIM (1 Jn.3:1-2). 

You can read what Jesus looks like TODAY in Revelation 1:13-16.  

WHAT GLORY AND SPLENDOR THAT WILL BE!!

     If you meet the CONDITIONS given by God, you can be in the

Kingdom of God. And all who are there, will be there not because

of their WORKS that they've done, but because of God's mercy -

GRACE. Because they have been forgiven their sins through the

blood of His Son - Christ Jesus.

     You are truly saved by GRACE !

                       .............................

Written in 1984

Permission is granted to photo/print copy any article by Keith

Hunt and distribute.