Genesis 6:8-10
8 But
Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
9 This
is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, blameless
among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.
10 Noah
had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.
Noah lived a righteous life and walked
with God because he ‘found grace in the eyes of the Lord.’
Grace - meaning
The word “grace” appears for the first time
in the Bible in this verse.
"Grace" is the English translation
of the Greek χάρις (charis) meaning "that which brings delight,
joy, happiness, or good fortune."
The Old Testament use of the word (Hebrew
word חֵ֖ן (ẖen) as found in Genesis 6:8) includes the concept that
those showing favor do gracious deeds, or acts of grace, such as being kind to
the poor and showing generosity.
Grace
is not a commodity or a substance. It is an action of God; therefore, it has a
result.
What is Grace?
The classic definition is the best: God’s grace
is God’s unmerited favor.
“Unmerited divine assistance given humans for
their regeneration or sanctification”
Grace is not
commodity or a substance. It is an action of God; therefore, it has a result.
Grace means that God showered
favor and blessing on those who did not in any way deserve or earn it.
They deserved His judgment and
wrath. But He showed them favor.
Unmerited
favor from the King
Kingdom of God runs on kingdom
principles, not on democratic notions.
The King is in no way answerable
to His citizens.
The King is not bound to explain
why He felt favor towards a particular man.
Grace is the favor the King feels
towards an unmerited citizen for an unexplained reason.
The king may have or may not have
a reason for giving grace to the citizen.
Grace runs counter
to the way the world works.
The world works on the Merit System.
If you do well in school, you get
good grades and win awards.
If you do well in sports, you
make the team and get a lot of applause.
If you get into college, the
merit system continues to reward excellence.
This carries over into the
business world after college.
Exceptional performance earns
promotions and raises.
Sloppy performance will get you
fired.
Unexplained favors - instances
Election of Abraham for the Restoration of the Kingdom
Genesis
12:1-5
1 The
Lord had said to
Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the
land I will show you.
2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I
will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever
curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told
him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out
from Harran.
5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all
the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in
Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.
Genesis 11:30-32
30 Now Sarai was childless because she was not able to conceive.
31 Terah
took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law
Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the
Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Harran, they settled there.
32 Terah
lived 205 years, and he died in Harran.
Acts 7:2-4
2 To
this he (Stephen) replied: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory
appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he
lived in Harran.
3 ‘Leave
your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you.’
4 “So
he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Harran. After the death of his
father, God sent him to this land where you are now living.
Election of Jacob or the rejection
of Esau.
Genesis 25:21-23
21 Isaac
prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was
childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah
became pregnant.
22 The
babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to
me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.
23 The
Lord said to
her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be
separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve
the younger.”
24 When the time came for her to give birth, there
were twin boys in her womb.
25 The first to come out was red, and his whole
body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau.
Election of NT
believers
There is no reason for God has
elected us, you and me, as the part of the great Restoration program.
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were
still sinners, Christ died for us.
God rightly could have sent His
Son to condemn us and judge us. But instead:
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Two
distortions to Grace
1. Merit Salvation
All of the world’s religions, except for Biblical Christianity, work on
the Merit System.
Even the major branches of
Christianity, the Roman Catholic Church
and the Orthodox Church, teach a
system of merit-salvation.
In merit-salvation
we have to add our works to what Christ did on the cross in order to go to
heaven.
Most believers who die go to
purgatory, where after suffering for a while, eventually you will have enough
of your sins purged away and enough merit to qualify for heaven.
This merit system of salvation
permeates the public mind.
Ask anyone on the street his
opinion of how a person gets into heaven and you will hear something about
being a good person.
It was at the heart of pharisaic,
legalistic religion in the times of Jesus and Paul.
2. Licentiousness
God’s grace also gets distorted
from another side.
Some mistake the grace of God for
licentiousness.
Many professing Christians
wrongly think that God’s grace means that He gives out free passes that allow
us to sin, with no consequences for disobedience.
If you emphasize the need to obey
God’s commandments or do good works, they call you a legalist.
If you warn them that their
sloppy view of sin will result in God’s discipline, they don’t want to hear it.
Their mantra is, “I’m not into
your rules kind of religion. I’m under grace, not law.” For them, grace means
permission for sloppy living.
Jude 1:3-6
3 Dear
friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we
share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was
once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.
4 For
certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly
slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God
into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and
Lord.
5 Though
you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord at one time
delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not
believe.
6 And
the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their
proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains
for judgment on the great Day.
Let these serious misconceptions of God’s
grace may be corrected.
For God’s grace first saves and then
trains His people for godliness and good deeds.
Two
Types of Grace
In theological
terms, there are two types of grace:
1.
Common
Grace
2.
Saving
grace.
Common
grace
Common Grace is
the favour that God gives to all people.
Common grace is the
kind of grace we see in creation.
Common grace is given
to every person simply because they get up in the morning.
It is manifested
in the way God takes care of all people by providing for them sunshine, rain,
shelter, food, government, laws, general health, etc.
Common grace
extends to every human alive.
Even those who hate God receive His grace.
Every breath God allows them to take is a
product of His common grace to all creation:
Matthew 5:45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun
to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the
unrighteous.
Even the atheist enjoys the effects of God’s
sovereign grace through God’s beautiful creation and His provision of the
resources necessary for food, clothing, and housing.
God doesn’t owe these things to us, but He
sovereignly provides them to exhibit His grace.
Genesis 8:21,22
21 The
Lord smelled the
pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground
because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil
from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have
done.
22 “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and
harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.”
God is making a
unilateral covenant with man.
The covenant, as
usual with all suzerain treaties, demanded a sacrifice of death of a
scapegoat.
By this covenant God
affirms His unchanging Grace (favors) to all humanity.
Saving
Grace
Saving Grace is an
action of God that results in the salvation of human beings.
Redemptive grace is
focused most on the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.
By His saving grace, God has paid the ransom
for everyone who will receive His gift of salvation.
There are three
elements in Saving Grace.
1.
Salvation
to all
2.
Election
of Saints
3.
Freedom
to resist
1.
Salvation
to all
Titus
2:11 For the
grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.
Paul says that the appearance of
God’s grace brought “salvation to all men.”
The KJV and the NIV err by
translating that God’s grace has appeared to all men.
That never has been true, in that
there have always been many that have never heard of God’s grace in Jesus
Christ.
Paul means that God’s grace that
appeared in the person of Christ offers salvation to all that hear of it.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Acts
2:21 And everyone
who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
John
4:13,14
13 Jesus answered, “Everyone
who drinks this water will be thirsty again,
14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will
never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of
water welling up to eternal life.”
Acts
10:43 All the
prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives
forgiveness of sins through his name.
All are not saved
This does not mean that all
people are saved or will be saved.
The Bible is clear that there are
two separate, final destinations for all people.
Those who by God’s grace believe
in Jesus Christ as Savior will go to heaven.
Those who do not believe in
Christ will pay the penalty of eternal separation from God in hell.
No sinner is beyond
The good news of God’s grace is
that no sinner is beyond the reach of God’s grace.
The apostle Paul was a persecutor
of the church.
He called himself the chief of
sinners.
But he experienced God’s grace
through the cross.
If the chief of sinners found
mercy, so can anybody.
Romans 10:8-10
8 But
what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your
heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim:
9 If
you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that
God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For
it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your
mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
Therefore it is
just as clear in the Word of God that the Saving Grace of God is provided for
every single man and woman through the sacrifice of His Son.
Any person may
obtain His Grace by exercising his will (choice) to receive by faith (trusting
in) Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross for his personal salvation.
That is a
legitimate offer to every person.
2.
Election
Election is
choosing one from many.
The question of
choice is called "election"
because of the Greek word for those who are chosen - the Bible calls them eklektos.
The main Old
Testament verb for “Chosen” or “selected”
is “bahar” a deliberate
selecting of something or someone with attendant preference or pleasure.
The New Testament
verb “eklegomai” means to choose
or select out of a larger group something or someone for oneself.
The related
adjectives “hahir” and “eklektos” are translated “elect” or
“chosen” and are the result of an act of selection.
Saving Grace is
that favour from God expressed upon those whom He has chosen.
This expression of
grace results in salvation.
Ephesians 1:3-6
3 Praise
be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the
heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
4 For
he chose us
in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.
In love
5 he
predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus
Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—
6 to
the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he
loves.
Therefore God,
in accordance with His purpose and before time, selected every single person
who was to be
saved through Jesus Christ.
God initially
chooses the receiver.
He is building His
body by calling out His sheep.
God chooses the
receiver for preparation of his heart to receive Grace.
Cornelius
God singled out
Cornelius.
There were many
Gentiles who could have been saved and become the first Gentile to officially
be introduced into the church.
Cornelius was
sovereignly chosen by God, but he also had a searching heart.
Cornelius was a
devout man who feared God and gave his money to the people.
The word
"people" (Gk. laos) is often used in Acts to speak of the Jews.
Cornelius was
giving money to the Jews.
He also prayed all
the time.
In his own heart
and mind, Cornelius had come to an understanding of the true God.
By Election God prepares and gives the receiver the opportunity to actively respond.
God reached down
and gave him the disposition to turn and seek Him even when he was dead in his
trespasses and sins.
Ephesians
2:1 And you [He made alive when you]
were [spiritually] dead and separated from Him because of your
transgressions and sins, (Amplified Bible)
Ephesians
2:8
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from
yourselves, it is the gift of God
–
9 not
by works, so that no one can boast.
Acts
13:48,49
48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of
the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.
49 The
word of the Lord spread through the whole region.
The language of Genesis
6:8 gives us an insight into Noah’s character.
Genesis 6:8-10
8 But
Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
9 This
is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, blameless
among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.
10 Noah
had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.
“Found”
is a simple active perfect verb,
not a passive one.
Thus, Noah found favour- grace - in God’s
eyes because he was actively looking for it.
God’s grace is always available.
It is not hidden from anyone.
But it must be “found” by God’s servants
Usually, man,
including Noah, is not a seeker of God’s Grace.
Then what made
Noah seek after God’s Grace.
Noah was chosen by
God to receive His Grace.
Two
paradoxical concepts
Admittedly the two
concepts don't seem to go together.
However, both are
true separately, and we must accept them both by faith.
You may not
understand it, but rest assured - it's fully reconciled in the mind of God.
3. Freedom
of Choice – resistible Grace
This is the
freedom to resist and reject God’s Grace.
John Wesley believed
that people have freedom of choice - to accept or to reject God's justifying
grace.
God's choice is
never against the will of the chosen one.
Added to the
sovereign election of God is the choice of man.
Both sides of salvation
are expressed in Scripture.
We may not
understand exactly how they fit together, but we do know that they belong to
God's plan of salvation.
The Election only effects
the preparation of the receiver.
God gives the
receiver the opportunity to actively respond.
Still he has the
freedom to resist God’s Grace
God wants to
connect faith with an act of obedience because that's what the Christian life
is all about.
God responds to
the willing, open heart.
Election
never violates volition; they always go together.
The language of Genesis
6:8 gives us an insight into the Free Will exercised by Noah.
Genesis 6:8-10
8 But
Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
9 This
is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, blameless
among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.
10 Noah
had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.
“Found”
is a simple active perfect verb,
not a passive one.
Thus, Noah found favour- grace - in God’s
eyes because he was actively looking for it.
God’s grace is always available.
It is not hidden from anyone.
But it must be “found” by God’s servants
James 4:6 But he gives us more grace. That
is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the
humble.”
Romans 10:8-10
8 But
what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your
heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim:
9 If
you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that
God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For
it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth
that you profess your faith and are saved.
The truth is that God does not violate our Will
by choosing us and redeeming us.
Rather, He changes our hearts so that our Will
choose Him.
God’s election
does not precede man’s choice.
Man’s choice
does not precede God’s election.
One does not
depend on the other.
Rather they materialize
hand-in-hand and are co-dependent on each other in the mind of God.
Enabling
Grace (Sanctifying grace)
The International
Standard Bible Encyclopedia: “…. in the New Testament: grace became the power of God to enable
Christians to live the new life in Christ.”
Sanctifying Grace is a habitual gift, a
stable and supernatural disposition that perfects the soul itself to enable it to live with God, to act by his
love.
We need God's grace
to be saved and we also need God's grace to be sanctified.
Sanctification
implies separation.
Sanctifying grace
is present in both saving and keeping, we enter into one through our
faith and the work of the cross and the other through the work of the Holy
Spirit.
This is what makes
faith and works compatible, when it led by the Spirit.
Grace enables you:
1.
To live a sanctified
(separated) life.
2.
To face trials and troubles in
your life.
A good example for enabling Grace is Paul’s
experience describe in 2 Corinthians 12:9
2 Corinthians 12:7-9
7 or
because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me
from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan,
to torment me.
8 Three
times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.
9 But
he said to me, “My grace is
sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the
more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
(All Bible verses are from NIV, if not otherwise mentioned.)
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