House of Hope Online

October 20. 2024

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The word “grace” has pursued me this week.  Attempts have been made to define grace and I feel like they all fall a little short.  I used to think of grace as God doing for us that which we cannot do for ourselves.  While that definition is true, grace is bigger than that because it infiltrates so many areas in the life of the believer.

Today, I want to delve into just a few scriptures to point out how the Lord dispenses to us more than a little grace.

1.  Grace Saves Us through Faith

We know from Ephesians 2 that grace saves us through faith.

Ephesians 2:

 4 ¶ But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,

 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly [places], in Christ Jesus,

 7 in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, [it is] the gift of God;

 9 not as a result of works, that no one should boast.

Strong’s Greek Dictionary defines the word “grace” as graciousness of manner or act, especially the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life of an individual.  This definition includes acceptance, benefit, favor, gifting, joy, liberality, and pleasure.  And so, when we talk about God’s grace toward us, we are talking about an all-encompassing influence upon our heart and a full reflection upon our lives.  We are to reflect the grace of God to others.

We cannot save ourselves from eternal damnation, only God’s grace can do that, even though we play a role because we must accept that salvation.  Romans 10:9-10 teaches us to accept salvation by confessing with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believing in our heart that God raised Him from the dead.  But in Ephesians 2:8-9, Paul writes that faith itself is a gift from God, that no one should boast.

•  Grace Heals Us

In Ephesians 2:8, the Greek word for “saved” is “sozo,” which also means to deliver, make whole, and preserve safe from danger, loss, or destruction.  So, while grace provides eternal salvation, in the meantime, it also provides healing of our infirmities, and deliverance from all evil.

•  Grace Sustains Us

Isaiah 46:

 4 Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. (NIV)

I am racing toward my 71^st birthday, so this promise from Isaiah is taking on much more meaning for me.  Recognize the graciousness of the promise.  Your Lord is promising to sustain you, and even carry you, if necessary.  Grace even promises to rescue us.

•  Grace Keeps Us in Peace

Isaiah 26:

 3 “The steadfast of mind Thou wilt keep in perfect peace, Because he trusts in Thee.

Isaiah promises here that if we trust in God, He will keep us in perfect peace.  Again, we must receive Him by trusting the promise.  Just as we said about being saved by grace, we must accept and believe, but the promise is there for perfect peace.

In the Hebrew, the word for “peace” in verse 3 is “Shalowm,” which means well, happy, and friendly, but it also means welfare, great health, prosperity, favor, rest, and safety.  Grace provides all these things for us – it impacts every area of our life, and it is the reason we should rely on the Lord for everything.

•  Grace Intercedes for Us

Hebrews 7:

 25 Hence, also, He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

Again, we do not have to wait for eternity to realize the benefits of His grace.  Jesus lives today to intercede for us.  Think about that.  Even when we are screwing up, and falling short in the faith department, Jesus is interceding for us that no evil will befall us.  Grace is undeserved favor from Him.

•  Grace Rebukes Satan

Zechariah 3:

 1 ¶ Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.

 2 And the LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”

I love this passage of scripture.  Satan stands ready to accuse us, and God rebukes him.  Rebuke means to reprimand or criticize sharply.  Kim Clement used to sing a worship song entitled “I’ve Made Up My Mind,” in which God tells us that He loves us and nothing Satan says can change His mind.  That’s grace – God rebuking our accuser.

•  Grace Justifies Us

Roman 8:

 33 Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies;

This verse is much like Zechariah 3:2 and contains an important lesson to us.  We do not need to justify ourselves to others to “prove” our righteousness.  God is the One who justifies us.  The blood of Jesus justifies us.  God has one criterion: believe in Jesus.  That is, confess Jesus as Lord and believe that He was raised from the dead to forgive our sins.

•  Grace Crucifies the Flesh

Galatian 5:

 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

 26 Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.

All of us fall short of the glory of God, meaning we sin.  When we sin, we indulge the flesh.  Unfortunately, many try to overcome the flesh in their own strength.  We need grace to overcome sin.

Verse 24 says those who belong to Jesus crucify the flesh, and then it follows in verse 25 with the instruction to walk by the Spirit.  In other words, our key to crucify our flesh is to seek and soak in the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Be encouraged by this:

1^st John 1:

 8 “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

His faithfulness to forgive our sin and cleanse us from unrighteousness is a manifestation of grace operating in our lives.

How tremendous is this?  Grace saves us through faith.  The faith we need to be saved is a gift from God.  When we sin, grace washes us, and grace sends the Holy Spirit to help us crucify the flesh to avoid sin.  There is nothing to boast about here unless you are boasting about your Lord and Savior Jesus.

•  Grace Grants Us All Things

2^nd Peter 1:

 2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;

 3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

Closing

This is the perfect scripture to close with.  When we started this, I felt the Lord wanted us to appreciate how His grace benefits every area of our life, and 2^nd Peter 1:2-3 emphasizes just that.  His divine power and grace grant us everything pertaining to life and godliness, that is, everything we need to prosper in the fullness of this life, and everything we need to sustain our salvation through the trials and temptations of the devil.  Praise Jesus!

Let us pray.

Father God, thank You for much more than a little grace.  Help us to appreciate Your grace and to trust it.  Thank You for the grace that saves us, heals us, sustains us, keeps us in peace, intercedes for us, rebukes our accuser, justifies us, and crucifies our flesh.  Even when we are unfaithful, you remain faithful to us.  Even when we sin, You are faithful and righteous to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  We praise the holy name of Jesus.  Amen.