Grace

For the next months I will be exploring grace, specifically God's grace but also the grace we offer one another in Christ.  I hope you enjoy this journey and take it with me.

 

Grace = Favor.

God’s Grace = Unmerited, Unearned & Undeserved Favor

Some people confuse mercy and grace.  There is a difference between them.  Mercy is NOT getting the punishment you so richly deserve.  Grace is RECEIVING the blessings you DO NOT deserve.  God’s grace is receiving the blessings of God according to His riches and glory by Christ Jesus.  It brings you help in times of trouble and will make a way where none exists.  God’s grace is to be desired above all other gifts with the exception of salvation.  His grace requires faith as stated in Ephesians 2 which says, “4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved; 8 AMP By grace through faith are ye saved and not by your own actions or strengths, it is the gift of God.” 

The Jews wanted to put a yoke of circumcision and bondage to rules upon Christians when Peter, moved by the Holy Ghost said in Acts 15:7-11, “7 …Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. 8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; 9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11 But we believe that through the GRACE of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.”

His statement, “…even as they,” was a backhanded remark to the law bound Jews that if they could only grasp that God was offering them for free what they had worked so hard for in past centuries it was theirs.  Christians had no better sense or preconceived notions than to accept a free gift at face value.  The Jews were hampered by centuries of pressing in through the law.  That any were able to accept it so freely was surprising.  Even today some Christian churches teach the doctrine of suffering and works for remission of sins which goes completely against the word of God’s grace in Christ.  You cannot work or punish yourself enough to be worthy of this gift of God.  It is freely given because it must be.  We cannot attain it any other way.

You cannot earn salvation because it is far beyond your ability to receive.  You will notice as we travel through this group of lessons that the Old Testament saints lived in hopes of finding or obtaining grace.  It was sought after and desired.  We in Christ do not concern ourselves with obtaining grace since it is a free gift received by faith from God Himself.  God’s grace is received by obeying the unction of the Holy Spirit and opening the door of our hearts when Christ Jesus knocks on them.  As John 1:17 Amplified says, “For while the Law was given through Moses, grace ( unearned, undeserved favor and spiritual blessing) and truth came through Jesus Christ.”  In Christ we would rather learn to build our grace and have it grow.

Worthy of Grace

Genesis 6:5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7 And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.  9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man (tzaddik) and perfect (tamim) in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

Noah was tzaddik (righteous) and tamim (upright, unflawed and untainted).  The first word reflected his actions, how he lived his life.  The second was deeper and reflected the actions and more importantly the genetic history of his family line.  Far be it from me to open a can of worms but here goes.  There is much speculation whether or not angels are able to mate with human beings.  I am well aware of the verse in Matthew 22:30 which says that after the resurrection we will not marry or be given in marriage but will be like the angels.  That verse does not say  that angels are incapable of making a human woman pregnant.  We know that God certainly could and did in the case of Mary but we also know that Satan always seeks to imitate what God does. 

We would be wrong to ignore the previous verses of this chapter which speaks of the sons of God marrying the daughters of men and creating mighty men.  I leave it to you to either consider or reject but I do not believe we can say with any certainty that angels cannot breed with humans.  Another view is that the offspring of Cain are the daughters of men and the offspring of Seth are the sons of God.  My problem is why would such a mating of unsaved and saved if you will, produce monsters of great size, giants, or mighty men.  I have heard highly knowledgeable Bible scholars teach both sides. 

One group says angels are spirit beings and while they can appear as men (and never women I might add), they cannot breed.  This may be true but it may not.  We simply do not know their full capabilities.  The other believe the Seth / Cain theory and believe that God has cursed mankind for intermarrying with unbelievers.  This is easier to believe from a purely natural standpoint but harder to accept knowing how much God loves mankind.  God protected Cain even after he killed Abel.  He watched over him.  I believe anyone who seeks God’s favor can find it if he is honest and humbles himself before God, even Cain or his seed.  There is nothing in scripture that I have read that says Cain’s offspring were beyond redemption.

Whichever is correct, that Angels breed or Cain’s offspring were cursed utterly, the word tamim reflects the fact that none of those flaws were found in Noah’s generations.  They were pure and righteous in all from Adam to Noah and God accepted them as so.  He may have been the only man on the Earth to have an unflawed genealogy.  God’s unwillingness to allow Satan’s poison to run rampant on the Earth forced Him to make an absolutely deadly decision on mankind’s behalf.  With the exception of Noah and his immediate family the entire world had to be cleansed.  This extreme need for holiness and righteousness in His presence must always be kept in our minds.

Not only was Noah righteous in his lifestyle but pure in his generations.  He had nothing to do with his bloodline but he did live righteously and scripture says he ‘walked with God.’  Even in the Old Testament we see that Noah could not have earned God’s grace.  There was no way for him to affect his genes and all of our righteousness are as a dirty rag (Isaiah 64:6).  God chose him and that is the only reason he found grace.  No matter how noble we might want to make Noah appear, he was no more nor less worthy of God's grace than you or I.

Covering Grace

Genesis 19:17 And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. 18 And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord: 19 Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die: 20 Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live. 21 And he (the angel) said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken. 22 Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. 23 The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. 24 Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; 25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. 26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

I could say a great deal about Lot, Abraham’s nephew.  Suffice it to say that Lot was never someone who held Abraham’s code of honor and uprightness.  His only hope was the fact that Abraham did indeed love his nephew and God loved Abraham.  Because of this he received God’s grace which was passed down through the angels who destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.  Let us not forget that these two cities were filled with homosexual perversions and the people even tried to force themselves upon the angels who were in the form of men.  Lot tried to protect them but the men wanted them.  Perverted lifestyles are often predatory and led to their eventual downfall. 

Lot liked his comforts and didn’t want to flee. Abraham talked God into sparing the cities if God could find ten righteous living in them.  What a sad state of affairs that God could only find one sort of righteous man.  That the creator of the universe gave enough leeway for Lot to flee to the tiny city Zoar (means Insignificant) rather than to a mountain says a lot for the grace of God.  Grace motivates God to do far more for us than we have any right to expect.  It always amazes me that we push Him while demanding greater and greater gifts while offering less and less obedience and holiness.

Ezekiel 22 says, “29 The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully. 30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.”  If you look at what the angel told Lot above in verse 22 it would appear Lot had an opportunity there had he only realized it.  Abraham saw it earlier and stood in the gap for Sodom and Gomorrah.  Lot did not.  Had he been more like his uncle he might have taken heed of the angel’s warning and realized that his presence was staying the hand of their judgment.  He might have even prayed to God for Sodom and Gomorrah but that was not to be. How many opportunities to offer someone else Gods grace to we miss out of fear or anger?

One other thing should be observed here.  We choose our mates for many different reasons.  Lot was not a particularly courageous or upright man.  Throughout the Bible we see women like Esther, Ruth and Rahab; women who took a stand for righteousness and pressed forward into the future God wishes to bless them with, accepting His grace with joy and determination.  In some cases those wives are much more righteous than their husbands.  Lot chose his wife poorly like he made all his decisions and she could not stand to leave her home for all its flaws.  When God is offering grace, do not think there is another plan for you if you refuse it.  You might just wind up as a pillar of salt.

Hoping for Grace

Genesis 32:3 And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom. 4 And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now: 5 And I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants, and womenservants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight. 6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.

I am at a place in my life where God is requiring me to take care how I speak to others or treat them.  For someone who has battled ‘impulse control’ for most of his adult life it has been a difficult and life long struggle.  I’m sure many in my past would say I don’t try hard enough but they would be surprised how much effort I do expend in this noble endeavor.  Just this week I have worked to repair bridges in my life that might seem insignificant to my future but when one works for God there are no insignificant connections.  One may plant and another water but God gives the increase.  If you choose to burn the bridge God needed to carry you to the next level of your life and ministry you will find it very difficult, if not impossible, to get where you need to be.

Jacob burned his bridges with Esau by not allowing God to do things His way.  His mother sold her eldest son down the river and helped her youngest to steal his birthright.  There is no doubt in my mind that God would have done things differently had Jacob simply sought Him for guidance.  We know from Malachi that God hated Esau.  Simply knowing this does not give us the right to do God’s chastening work - vengeance is Mine, I will repay saith the Lord – (Romans 12:19).  We are supposed to live righteously and in a spirit of love.  God said He is not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9), and yet the Catholic church murdered and tortured millions during the inquisition in their misguided attempt to fix God’s kingdom by force and supported the Nazis in their murder of six million Jews.  Even today the Muslims and others believe they have the god given right to promote their message or ‘God’s will’ by force.

We live in the dispensation of GRACE.  Grace is UNMERITED favor.  We don’t deserve it.  We want it and if we want it we ought to be willing to give it to others.  Getting back to Jacob’s problem though; he had stolen his brother’s blessing (a huge thing given the blessing of a patriarch) and then ran away.  His brother was always a warrior and hunter.  How much easier would Jacob’s homecoming have been had he just been forthright and allowed God to be God?  There is never a justification to steal someone’s blessings; God is well able to bless all His children.  God cursed Israel for David’s sin with Bathsheeba.  He was the king.  He could have any number of wives or concubines and yet he stole one lonely soldier’s beloved wife instead.  For this he endured great suffering, saw tens of thousands of his people killed in a plague and eventually was humbled by his own son.

There is nothing wrong with hoping for grace, but we ought to recognize that God is not required to give it when we have broken His laws and flaunted His rules.  Jacob was blessed in that he had changed his life and become more mature over the years.  He had also experienced being cheated by his father-in-law and knew firsthand what Esau had gone through.  Jacob’s salvation was that God told him to go back home and he obeyed.  Obedience will often open the doors of grace that have been closed to us for so long.

Family Grace

Genesis 33:8 And he (Esau) said, What meanest thou by all this drove which I met? And he said, These are to find grace in the sight of my lord. 9 And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself. 10 And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me. 11 Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it.

I suppose some of us would have thought, “Great!  I’ll keep my stuff and we’re okay,” when Esau refused the offering. In this case you would have been dead wrong.  The custom in this land was that the trespass offering (which this was) must be received or the trespass was not forgiven.  Jacob had to ask at least three times for it to be accepted.  In Ruth, Naomi was required to release her daughters-in-law three times, no matter how much she loved them or might have missed them; but after the third time Ruth’s decision to stay became a vow on her part.  She had bound herself to Naomi. 

In this case, Jacob wanted a vow of peace from Esau.  Had Esau refused him three times it may well have meant war between Jacob and his brother.  As it was, God required that peace from Esau as if he had promised it to Himself. When the children of Israel left Egypt and passed through Edom (the people of Esau) it was required the Edomites offer them hospitality as brethren.  That one act might have completely changed God's attitude toward Edom.  Because they refused (Numbers 20:14-21) the covenant of family was broken between Israel and Edom and between Edom and God.  In Joel 3:18 we see that God cursed Edom for a desolation because they offered violence to their brethren instead of grace.  There is a grace required in families that God Himself watches over and requires no matter how much provocation someone might have caused.  You might not always open your home to someone who is reckless or unrighteous but you still must open your heart.

Foolish Grace?

Genesis 33:15 And Esau said, Let me now leave with thee some of the folk that are with me. And he said, What needeth it? let me find grace in the sight of my lord. 16 So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir. 17 And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth 18 And Jacob came to Shalom, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padanaram; and pitched his tent before the city.

In this case Jacob did not want to travel to Seir with his brother.  He should have gone where God had told him to go, to Bethel, but he chose to stop in Shechem, a pagan town about a day’s travel from where God said to go.  We will see in the next passage that this decision would have terrible consequences.  When God tells us to do something specific we ought to try and do it fully and completely.  His commandments are for our good no matter if they make sense at the time or not.  In this case his decision left an opening for the rape of his daughter, the murder of an entire city and a curse upon two of his sons.

Stopping in Shechem was an easy choice.  He got along with the people (at first) and the caravan routes that passed through were good for business.  Sadly, by stopping there he was not in a safe place for the fledgling nation and it left opportunities for injuries in every area.  If you choose to travel in the name of the Lord, make sure you are following His roadmap.  It is not wise to anger God or at a minimum step out from under His grace. 

Deceitful Grace

Genesis 34:8 And Hamor communed with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter: I pray you give her him to wife. 9 And make ye marriages with us, and give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you. 10 And ye shall dwell with us: and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade ye therein, and get you possessions therein. 11 And Shechem said unto her father and unto her brethren, Let me find grace in your eyes, and what ye shall say unto me I will give. 12 Ask me never so much dowry and gift, and I will give according as ye shall say unto me: but give me the damsel to wife. 13 And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, and said, because he had defiled Dinah their sister: 14 And they said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us: 15 But in this will we consent unto you: If ye will be as we be, that every male of you be circumcised; 16 Then will we give our daughters unto you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people.

Jacob’s daughter Dinah, raised in her father’s camp in safety, forgot that safety is a relative term.  It was safe because she only came in contact with her family.  She knew her own customs but not those of the people who lived in the city.  Her decision to visit the women of the village became her downfall when the prince of that village saw her and coveted her.  By the time the madness had died down Dinah was closeted in her brother’s home, never to marry; her brother’s had offered a false grace to the villagers and then after they were circumcised and could not move or fight, came in and killed every man in the village.  This time Jacob was forced to flee for their lives to Bethel where he should have stopped in the first place. 

There are times when you will be asked to offer grace to someone who has made a mistake and wounded you in some manner.  Perhaps it was intentional or perhaps it was caused by misunderstanding of customs and propriety.  I have moved from Southern California to Southern Virginia and my wife is always telling me, “You can’t do that here,” or, “You can’t say that here!”  It’s not that I intend to hurt people’s feelings or insult anyone but the customs here are much different than where I lived for 30 years.  It requires me to learn an entirely new set of responses to day to day interactions. 

This isn’t to say that one way is better than another but you must remember that not everyone thinks or believes like you do.  I believe Paul said it best in 1 Corinthians 9.  “19 For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. 20 And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; 21 To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. 22 To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” 

We live for Christ and Christ lived for the truth.  We want all men to understand these truths.  It doesn’t matter if you live in the same type of home or have the same family dynamics as they do, Christ died for them.  As Paul said in Romans 12, “17 Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for what is honest and proper and noble [aiming to be above reproach] in the sight of everyone. 18 If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

Blessings beloved,

Bishop J