How to view grace as a gift

For many religious people, it is a real struggle to hear that man must do something to obtain the free gift (Rom. 5:18). How can something be “free” and yet we must do something to obtain it? Let us allow God to explain it. In Luke 17:10, Jesus said that if one does everything that was commanded them; they should still say they are an unprofitable servant and that they have only done their duty.

Christ’s gift is so great that no amount of service for the Lord will equal what Jesus did for us. Consider this illustration: A teacher is holding a briefcase at the front of the classroom. The briefcase contains a million dollars. The teacher calls your name and says that if you walk to the front and ask nicely, you will be given the money. If you follow these instructions, do you believe that you earned the money? Those who believe they earned the money by simply walking up and asking politely will struggle to understand God’s grace.

Nobody is so important that they deserve a million dollars by simply walking to the front of a classroom. Now consider again the sacrifice that Christ made: no amount of service on earth will equal Christ’s sacrifice for those in sin. Remember, if we do not obey the gospel (II Thess. 1:8), God’s grace will not save us. Why not? The student who does not walk to the front of the classroom will not get the money, and Christians will not find salvation if they do not do His will.

The brethren at Ephesus were told that the gift (salvation) cannot be obtained by works because grace would then no longer exist. Works alone cannot save anyone. The nicest person in this world, the best husband, the best wife and the most loyal friend all have one thing in common – they have all sinned (Rom. 3:23) and all need a Savior to have those sins remitted (Matt. 26:28). This is why we are saved by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8). Just like faith without works is dead (James 2:26), works without faith is useless (Eph. 2:9).

Do not allow confusion about God’s grace to cause you to miss out. Though it is for everyone, not everyone will obtain it (Matt. 7:21-23).

                                                                                       Chuck

What grace is not

If you teach someone that 2+2=4, you should not have to also teach everything that 2+2 does not equal (2+2≠5, 2+2≠3, etc.). If someone was raised to believe that 2+2=5 though, you would have to teach both what 2+2 does equal (4) and also what it does not equal (5).

This is a common challenge when trying to teach what God’s word actually says. You might think that whenever someone teaches what the Bible says, they would not have to also teach what the Bible does not say. Sadly though, many people think the Bible teaches certain things that it does not. In this article, we will teach what grace is. But we also have to point out what grace is not. Why? Many religious teachers spread confusion by making claims about grace that are NOT Biblical.

The Biblical meaning of grace

The simple definition of grace is “a gift”. Paul stated that we are saved by grace through faith and not of works (Eph. 2:8-9). This shows that we can never earn our salvation – it is a gift from God and thus something that we do not deserve. If we did deserve it, it would not be a gift thus would not be considered grace. Specifically, God’s gift to us was the sending of Jesus Christ and providing a plan of salvation that leads to heaven (Eph. 2:1-7). 

Despite the Bible’s clear teaching, religious teachers have muddied the waters. Here are some things that grace is NOT:

Grace is not a license to sin

The brethren at Rome were told God’s grace was great due to the amount of sinfulness in the world (Rom. 5:20). Paul did not want them to get the wrong idea though, so he posed a question: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” (Rom. 6:1). In essence, Paul asks if the brethren should sin more to make God’s gift even more necessary. He strongly answered his own question: “Certainly not!” (verse 2). The point of Christ dying on the cross and giving His life as a gift for us was so that we would no long live under sin (Rom. 6:2). Willfully turning to sin is a rejection of this gift. Therefore, grace is not a license to sin!

Grace is not God overlooking sin

For some reason, people want to believe that “the grace of God” means He sees Christ’s blood when we sin rather than seeing us commit the actual error.  This makes no sense. Mankind was in sin, so the Father sent His Son (Rom. 5:8) to help us find forgiveness (Eph. 1:7). Does this mean God will overlook sins after someone becomes a Christian? In the Bible, Christians who sinned were told that God saw their wrongdoing (I Cor. 5:2; I Cor. 1:11; Rev. 2:4, 14; 3:1, 15-16). They were never told these sins were overlooked.

Grace is not obtained without conditions

Many religious people today are confused about grace because they believe it is unconditional. They say that if there are conditions on grace, it would no longer be a gift. What about the conditions Jesus gave: “Unless you believe I am He you will die in your sins” (John 8:24)? Also consider this condition about repentance: “Unless you repent you will all likewise perish,” (Luke 13:3). And this condition about baptism: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16). To not abide in the doctrine of Christ is to miss heaven (II John 9). Keep in mind what we read earlier – we are saved by grace through faith. This faith must be active, not dead (James 2:26). Grace is the Lord’s part, and faith is our part. Our faith comes by hearing the word of God (Rom. 10:17).

                                                                                         Chuck

Can you be a Christian and go to any church?

I am certain that most religious people believe Christians can go to any church they choose. What does the Bible, God’s preserved word, say? In a literal sense, anyone can do anything THEY want. Let’s rephrase the question to better seek the will of God: Can one be a faithful Christian and go to any church they want?

There are many questions that need to be answered. When we find the answers to these questions, then we will have found the answer to our original question.

1. What does the Bible teach about becoming a Christian? (Rom. 10:17; John 8:24; Rom. 10:9-10; Acts 2:38; 22:16)

2. If a “church” does not teach what the Bible clearly states for question #1, then why would a Christian want to assemble with that “church”? (II John 9-10; I John 4:1)

3. Has the Lord specified which church a Christian must be of? (Matt. 16:18; Acts 20:28; Eph. 1:22-23; 4:4; Rom. 16:16).

4. If the answer to question #3 is no, then would it really matter which church one was a member of? (Rom. 4:15)

5. However, if the Lord is being specific, then does this not answer the question given in the title? (Acts 2:47).

Allow me to be direct as we conclude this article. Jesus adds those who obey the gospel to His church, not some man-made organization. Becoming a Christian and picking any “church” you want is NOT authorized by the Lord. To make sure you are pleasing the Lord, study to show yourself approved (II Tim. 2:15). If you need further help identifying a church that is faithful to the Lord, do not hesitate to let us know.    

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Chuck

Controlling our thoughts

One of the ways Christ distinguished between His teachings and those found in the law of Moses was to first state what the law of Moses taught and then say “but I say unto you…”  One such statement can be found in Matthew 5:27-28: “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

Our Lord first quoted from Exodus 20:14, which clearly taught that it was unlawful to commit adultery. Then Jesus took it further by saying that even looking at a woman with lust is a sin. Is our Savior actually saying that we ought to control our thoughts? Yes. This reminds me of Paul’s words to the Corinthian brethren when he told them what love does not do – it “thinks no evil” (I Cor. 13:5).

Godly people work very hard to discipline their minds. This is accomplished by meditating on things which are proper. The Philippian saints were told, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things,” (Phil. 4:8).

Yet we all recognize the difficulty in controlling our thoughts all the time. This is much easier said than done. What guidance has the Lord offered to help us with this? Read on for a few things we can use.

Do not meditate on ungodliness

Garbage in, garbage out. It is hard to avoid impure thoughts if we only dwell on impure things. If we do not control what we watch and listen to, we will surely become worldly-minded. This was precisely the state of the world prior to the flood. God described mankind like this: “…every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually,” (Gen. 6:5). Children are not born with a dirty, corrupt mind – it is developed by constant exposure to evil. I realize that we cannot leave this world and that evil is everywhere. However, inviting evil into our lives is a recipe for an evil mind.

Learn to walk away

This is where our last point left off. Gossip, dirty jokes and other inappropriate conversations will stop much sooner if people refuse to listen (Eph. 5:4). Even if we cannot stop them at the source, God’s children can the leave the conversation, change the channel or walk out of a movie. Again, the goal is to keep our mind from being filled with impure thoughts. There is a reason brethren were told that evil company corrupts good habits (I Cor. 15:33). One such good habit that can be corrupted is a holy mind.

Remember who we are to think like

The goal of every saint is to be different from the world. Those who succeed in not being conformed to this world are those who renew their minds (Rom. 12:2). This is done by imitating Christ. When it comes to thinking right, Paul put it best: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,” (Phil. 4:4). The more time we spend familiarizing ourselves with the Savior, the more we begin to understand He spoke words that promoted godly thinking.

We all need to ask ourselves what we are allowing to influence our thinking.  Let’s face it, if we are going to control our thoughts, we need to control what we think about!

                                                                                      Chuck

Consequences of standing for nothing

Recently I heard a lyric to a song on the radio that goes, “If you stand for nothing, you will fall for everything.” This line immediately made me think of what the apostle Paul told the brethren at Ephesus: “that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness by which they lie in wait to deceive,” (Eph. 4:14).

Nobody in their right mind wants to be deceived, especially regarding Biblical teaching. The sad reality is that many people are being deceived though, and we need to everything we can to stop it. How can we prevent it from happening? And how can we determine if we are being deceived? The Lord has provided many aids, but we will just focus on the ones Paul mentioned in Ephesians.

First: Grow up

The first thing the apostle told the saints was to “be not children”. God’s people need to grow up, meaning they need to increase their faith (II Pet. 3:18). Even though Christians are always God’s children, this text it is talking about maturity. Those who never get grounded in Him will remain a “babe” in the faith and will struggle to discern good and evil (Heb. 5:13-14). The goal of every convert ought to be to desire the spiritual milk as a babe and then progress to the spiritual meat as soon as possible (Heb. 5:12).

Second: Do not believe everything you hear

The Ephesians’ church was told to not be carried away with every wind of doctrine. It is one thing to be trusting, but we should not take this too far. God’s people are commanded to test the spirits to see whether they are of God (I John 4:1). Our faith should not change or become unstable every time we hear someone make a claim – we are supposed to be rooted in the doctrine of Christ (II John 9). Many teachings sound Biblical but lack scriptural support. Phrases like “baptism is an outward sign of an inward grace” or “cleanliness is next to godliness” and “accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and you will be saved” might sound like the doctrine of Christ, but they are not.

Third: Remember that religious teachers are just men

Paul also instructed the Ephesians’ brethren to not to be tossed about by the trickery and cunning craftiness of men. Many people elevate the words of religious teachers and even follow them blindly. Those who claim to be teachers of God’s word must be held to that standards it contains (I Pet. 4:11). The mere fact that Paul told these brethren to not fall for their teachings is proof that the claims of religious teachers should be verified with God’s word and challenged when wrong. Even the apostle Peter was rebuked for his sinful behavior (Gal. 2:11). False teachers will desire to be elevated, but it can only happen if we allow it.

Forth: Know that you can have victory

The mere fact that these brethren were given instructions about what they should not allow is evidence these things can be prevented. As Jesus pointed out, we can know the truth, and the truth will set us free (John 8:32). We must use this truth! If someone is teaching error, we can correct them (Acts 18:26-28). If this person does not change what they teach, we can walk away from him (Matt. 10:14). Remember, we can resist even the devil himself (James 4:7).  Let us all heed these words and not be children who are carried about with every wind of doctrine.

                                                                                      Chuck