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  But for the Grace of God  

I sat at my desk deeply troubled while reading the headline stories of the day. The blatant sin of the world was enough to make me ill, even worse, the blatant sin of the church. But as I meditated on these things, a thought came to my heart that sent me to my knees completely broken. I began to weep as the thought sunk deeper and deeper into my mind, "But for the grace of God".

How we take for granted this simple, yet transforming gift of God. Jesus reminds us of this great grace when he says, He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone. (John 8:8)  Two thousand years later, who among us could cast a single stone? Truth is, but for the Grace of God, the stone would be aimed at you and I.

"...the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ..."   1 Corinthians 1:4

"...by the grace of God I am what I am..."   1 Corinthians 15:10

God's Grace
The grace which is given you by Jesus Christ: and includes all sorts of grace, adopting, justifying, pardoning, regenerating, and sanctifying grace; every particular grace of the Spirit, as faith, repentance, hope, love, fear, humility, self-denial, &c. all are gifts of God, and entirely owing to his free grace, and not to man's free will and power, or to any merits of his; and all come through the hands of Christ, and are given forth by him, as the Mediator of the covenant, and in consequence of his blood, righteousness, sacrifice, and merit.
    — John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

"So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. Romans 9:16

To speak more properly, it is not I, but the grace of God that is with me - This it is which at first qualified me for the work, and still excites me to zeal and diligence in it.
    — John Wesley's Explanatory Notes

But by the grace of God I am what I am. By the “favor” or mercy of God. What I have is to be traced to him, and not to any native tendency to goodness, or any native inclination to his service, or to any merit of my own. All my hopes of heaven; all my zeal; all my success; all my piety; all my apostolic endowments, are to be traced to him. Nothing is more common in the writings of Paul, than a disposition to trace all that he had to the mere mercy and grace of God. And nothing is a more certain indication of true piety than such a disposition. The reason why Paul here introduces the subject seems to be this. He had incidentally, and undesignedly, introduced a comparison in one respect between himself and the other apostles. He had not had the advantages which they had. Most of all, he was overwhelmed with the recollection that he had been a persecutor. He felt, therefore, that there was a special obligation resting on him to make up by diligence for the lack of their advantages of an early personal conversation with the Lord Jesus, and to express his gratitude that so great a sinner had been made an apostle. He, therefore, says, that he had not been idle. He had been enabled by the grace of God, to labor more than all the rest, and he had thus shown that he had not been insensible of his obligations.
    — Albert Barnes Notes on the Bible

As he was what he was by the grace of God in a private capacity, upon a level with other Christians, being a chosen vessel of salvation, not by works, nor on account of faith, or any holiness of his, but by grace; being regenerated, called, sanctified, justified, pardoned, and adopted by it; being a believer in Christ through faith, as a gift of God's grace, and having a good hope of eternal glory the same way; so he was what he was, as a minister of the Gospel, as an apostle, as in that high office purely by the grace of God: he was not made one by men, nor by his education, learning, and industry, nor through any merits of his own, but by the free favour and sovereign will of God, bestowing on him gifts and grace, by which he was qualified for apostleship, and to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ:
    — John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

It is God's prerogative to say, I am that I am; it is our privilege to be able to say, “By God's grace we are what we are.” We are nothing but what God makes us, nothing in religion but what his grace makes us. All that is good in us is a stream from this fountain. Paul was sensible of this, and kept humble and thankful by this conviction; so should we. Nay, though he was conscious of his own diligence, and zeal, and service, so that he could say of himself, the grace of God was not given him in vain, but he laboured more abundantly than they all: he thought himself so much more the debtor to divine grace. Yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Note, Those who have the grace of God bestowed on them should take care that it be not in vain. They should cherish, and exercise, and exert, this heavenly principle. So did Paul, and therefore laboured with so much heart and so much success. And yet the more he laboured, and the more good he did, the more humble he was in his opinion of himself, and the more disposed to own and magnify the favour of God towards him, his free and unmerited favour. Note, A humble spirit will be very apt to own and magnify the grace of God. A humble spirit is commonly a gracious one. Where pride is subdued there it is reasonable to believe grace reigns.
    — Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible

John Wesley on Grace
God's Preparing, Accepting, and Sustaining Grace

John Wesley believed that God provides us with three kinds of grace? He believed in:
prevenient (preparing) grace
accepting (justifying) grace
sustaining (sanctifying) grace

God's prevenient grace is with us from birth, preparing us for new life in Christ. "Prevenient" means "comes before." Wesley did not believe that humanity was totally "depraved" but rather God places a little spark of divine grace within us which enables us to recognize and accept God's justifying grace. Preparing grace is "free in all for all," as Wesley used to say.

Today some call God's justifying grace "conversion" or being "born again." When we experience God's justifying grace, we come into that new life in Christ. Wesley believed that people have freedom of choice. We are free to accept or reject God's justifying grace. Wesley emphasized "Free Grace" saying:

The grace or love of God, whence cometh our salvation, is FREE IN ALL, and FREE FOR ALL.... It is free in all to whom it is given. It does not depend on any power or merit in man; no, not in any degree, neither in whole, nor in part. It does not in anywise depend either on the good works or righteousness of the receiver; not on anything he has done, or anything he is. It does not depend on his endeavors. It does not depend on his good tempers, or good desires, or good purposes and intentions; for all these flow from the free grace of God; they are the streams only, not the fountain. They are the fruits of free grace, and not the root. They are not the cause, but the effects of it.

Wesley believed that, after we have accepted God's grace, we are to move on in God's sustaining grace toward perfection.Wesley believed the people could "fall from grace" or "backslide." We cannot just sit on our laurels, so to speak, and claim God's salvation and then do nothing. We are to participate in the what Wesley called "the means of grace" and to continue to grow in Christian life.

Some Christians tend to focus on God's justifying grace, but Wesley asserted that the Christian walk does not stop with acceptance of new life in Christ. Wesley said in his sermon, "On Repentance of Believers":

It is generally supposed, that repentance and faith are only the gate of religion; that they are necessary only at the beginning of our Christian course, when we are setting out in the way to the kingdom.... And this is undoubtedly true, that there is a repentance and a faith, which are, more especially, necessary at the beginning: a repentance, which is a conviction of our utter sinfulness, and guiltiness, and helplessness.... But, notwithstanding this, there is also a repentance and a faith (taking the words in another sense, a sense not quite the same, nor yet entirely different) which are requisite after we have "believed the gospel;" yea, and in every subsequent stage of our Christian course, or we cannot "run the race which is set before us." And this repentance and faith are full as necessary, in order to our continuance and growth in grace, as the former faith and repentance were, in order to our entering into the kingdom of God.

Grace Exalted - Boasting Excluded
by Charles H. Spurgeon

"Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith." Romans 3:27

PRIDE is most obnoxious to God. As a sin, His holiness hates it. As a treason, His sovereignty detests it. As a rebellion, the whole of His attributes stand leagued to put it down. God has touched other sins with His finger, but against this vice He has made bare His arm. There have been, I know, terrible judgments against lust—but there have been ten times as many against that swelling lust of the deceitful heart. Remember, the first transgression had in its essence, pride.

The ambitious heart of Eve desired to be as God, knowing good and evil, and Adam imagined that he should be lifted up to Divine rank if he dared to pluck and eat. The blasting of Paradise, the sterility of the world, the travail of human birth, the sweat of the brow, and the certainty of death may all be traced to this fruitful mother of mischief, pride.

Remember Babel and how God has scattered us and confounded our tongues. It was man’s pride which led him to seek for an undivided monarchy that so he might be great. The tower was to be the rallying point of all the tribes and would have been the central throne of all human grandeur—but God has scattered us—that pride might not climb to so high a pitch. Pride, you have indeed suffered severe strokes from God. Against you has He furbished His sword and prepared His weapons of war.

The Lord, even the Lord of Hosts has sworn it, and He will surely stain the pride of all human glory and tread all boasting as straw is trod for the dunghill. Talk no more so exceedingly proud. Let no arrogance come out of your mouth, for the bows of the mighty have been broken and the haughtiness of man has been bowed down. Remember Pharaoh and the plagues which God brought on Egypt, and the wonders which He worked in the field of Zoan.

Remember the Red Sea, and Rahab cut, and the dragon broken. Think of Nebuchadnezzar, the mighty architect of Babylon, driven out to eat grass like the oxen till his nails grew like birds’ claws and his hair like eagles’ feathers. Remember Herod, eaten of worms, because he gave not God the glory. And Sennacherib, with the Lord’s hook in his jaws, turned by the way he came to the place where his sons became his slayers.

Time would fail to tell of the innumerable conquerors, and emperors, and mighty men of earth who have all perished beneath the blast of Your rebuke, O God, because they lifted up themselves and said, “I am, and there is none beside me.” You have turned wise men backward and made their knowledge foolishness and no flesh may glory in Your Presence.

Yes, when pride has sought to shelter itself in the hearts of God’s chosen people, still the arrows of God have sought it out and have drunk its blood. God loves His servants still, but pride even in them, He abhors. David may be a man after God’s own heart—but if his pride shall lift him up to number the people, then he shall have a choice between three chastisements. And he shall be happy to choose the pestilence as being the least of the plagues.

Or if Hezekiah shall show to the ambassadors of Babylon his riches and his treasures, there shall come to him the rebuke—“ What have they seen in your house?” And the threat—“Behold they shall take your sons to make them eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” Oh, Brethren, forget not that God has uttered the most solemn words as well as issued the most awful judgments against pride. “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.” “Him that has a high look and a proud heart will I not suffer.” “Pride and arrogance do I hate.”

“The Lord will destroy the house of the proud.” “The day of the Lord shall be upon everyone that is proud and lofty, and upon everyone that is lifted up, and he shall be brought low.” “I am against you, O you most proud, says the Lord God of Hosts.” There are hundreds of terrible texts like these but we cannot now recount them all.

Now mark, to put an everlasting stigma upon human vanity and to hurl once and for all mire and filth upon all human glorying, God has ordained that the only way in which He will save men shall be a way which utterly excludes the possibility of man’s having a single word to say by way of vaunting. He has declared that the only foundation which He will ever lay shall be one by which man’s strength shall be broken in pieces and by which man’s pride shall be humbled in the dust.

To this subject I ask your attention this morning. It is to enlarge and amplify the sentiment of the text that I seek. “Where is boasting, then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith.” We shall notice first of all, the rejected plan of Law. Then we shall note the excluded vice. Having so done, we shall notice in the third place, that the very fact that boasting is excluded permits of the reception of the worst of sinners. And we shall close by observing that the same system which excludes boasting includes humble and devout gratitude to God for His Grace and mercy.

Message Continued >>

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