Old Union Baptist Minister's School
Old Union Baptist Minister’s School March 28, 2013
“Understanding God’s Grace” By
Elder Billy L. Moran
Lesson Scripture: Romans 8:28-39 INTRODUCTION- The “Triune God” possesses many attributes that are essential to his being. A few of God’s necessary qualities are, Love, Goodness, Holiness, Truth, Mercy, Justice, Wisdom, Power, and Grace. All of these qualities are found in “Him“. By the term “in Him” I mean, in the one true God as expressed in The Father, The Son, and The Holy Ghost. “… these three are one! (1 John 5:7b) What is said of one, may be said of all, for he is one. These eternal qualities constitute the essence of our Eternal God. I don’t claim to understand everything about God and his Grace; and no one else should make such a claim. Zophar, said to Job, “… Oh that God would speak….that he would show thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! (is known) Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth”. (Job 11:5-9) John Gill, in his “Body of Divinity” says, “He (God) was “Grace” before he exhibited grace, and would have been forever the same if he had never displayed his grace to any of his creatures.” This is true! God extends grace to us: Why? Because he is “full of grace“. DEFINING GRACE - Baker’s Dictionary of Theology says, “many words convey one or more aspects of the doctrine of Grace.” (And, that is necessary because no one word could convey the fullness of God’s Grace. blm) The two (words) which most comprehensively express the New Testament word “Charis” (which is Greek for Grace) are “hen” and “hesed”. The former (hen) bears the predominant sense of favor, with an undertone of meaning that the favor is undeserved.” “The word hesed, most often translated “loving-kindness“ or “mercy” has also, though not invariably, the association of the covenant that God makes with his people: “The Lord appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee” (Jeremiah 31:3) Now that is Grace! “Hath God cast away his people? God forbid.” (Romans 11:1) Paul continues, “Even so then at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.” (Here is my interpretation of the “Election of Grace“: God elected, or made the choice, to deal with the human family, in, by, and through grace, because of his everlasting love and mercy to all the world, not just to selected individuals) “And if by grace then it is no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace; otherwise work is no more work.” (Romans 11:5-6) (1) The Bible says, “…God who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
even when we were dead in sins hath quickened us together with Christ; (By grace ye are saved;)” …. “That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus, for by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of your selves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Eph. 2:4-8). After writing about the source of the original sin, and it’s destructive consequences upon Adam’s race, Paul, declares, “… where sin abounded, grace did much more abound“ (Romans 5:20b). NOAH WEBSTER’S DICTIONARY of 1828 defines Grace: “The free unmerited love and favor of God; the spring and source of all benefits men receive from him. (See James 1:17) I believe the Grace of God is a display of God’s love, which is bestowed in a generous manner to sinners who are undeserving, and totally unworthy (blm) The grace of God comes from the goodness of his being, and not from anything in man. Grace is wholly independent of any merit, or worth in man; or any works he may perform. Some people have difficulty rightly dividing the scriptures, because they don’t understand the sovereignty of God. When Moses ask to see the Glory of God, God responded, “I will make my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the Name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy to whom I will show mercy”. (Exodus 33:19) Now what did Moses see? God showed Moses his “Goodness“ and his “Glory“! And that is the source of Grace. My question to you; Has God ever hid you in the cleft of the rock, as he passed by? What did you see? Did you see a shape or a form? No? I’m sure you did not. I suggest, that what you saw was a manifestation of “God’s Goodness”. Make no mistake, God is Sovereign! And,.. God has an Eternal Purpose; and,… God works all things after the counsel of his own will. (Ephesians 1:11) So,.. in eternity before he ever made the world, or man, because of his goodness, (not willing that any should perish, 2 Peter 3:9) God made a plan whereby any one and everyone of the fallen race of man could be redeemed. (1 Pet 1:18-21) (could be, not would be) God elected to be gracious to the whole human race, which was the exercise of God’s sovereign will. Jesus said, “If I,… be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. (John 12:32) Redemption is the “Work of Grace“. In my studies, I found a definition for the term redeemed: To buy back and restore; to make something or someone acceptable in spite of the negative qualities. That is a good definition of grace. Redeemed ones have a standing in the grace of God, in spite of our negative qualities. (Romans 5:1-2) (2) NOW TO THE LESSON TEXT - Here is an good example of “GRACE”! “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose”. (Romans 8:28)
The 8th Chapter of Romans begins with, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus“,… (Romans 1:1) and ends with, “…I am persuaded that nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord; (Romans 8:38-39) And in between it says, “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.” And what is his Purpose? To have a people redeemed from their sin by his grace. WHO ARE THE CALLED? The word “called”, in this text, in the Greek is Kletos; “the invited“, those who accepted the invitation. Remember what Jesus taught. “A certain man made a great supper and bade (invited) many; Some made excuses, and turned down the invitation. So, the man said, “I say unto you, that none of those men which were bidden (invited, and turned down the invitation) shall taste of my supper.” (Luke 14:15-24) It wasn’t that they were not invited, they turned down the invitation! The sovereign will of God was and is, that mankind would have the freedom to choose good and evil, right and wrong, heaven or hell, salvation or destruction. Each individual is responsible for his or her own actions, and our choices will have a direct bearing on our lives, even in eternity. But, our choices do not “affect” or “effect” the grace of God! Then, Paul says, “For whom he did foreknow“, (Proginosko- Greek - to know before hand, God knew the end from the beginning, (Isaiah 46:9-10) “he also did predestinate” (Proorizo - Greek - pre-determine and ordain) “to be conformed” (Summorphoo - Greek - to render like) “to the image of his dear son….,” (Roman 8:29) I want to state again, the predestinated ones, are those who are invited and have accepted the invitation. This is not talking about sinners being predestinated to salvation. For no sinner has ever been predestinated to be saved. That would have contradicted the free agency of man. The only person whose eternal destiny has ever been predetermined is Jesus Christ. It was determined in the Counsel Halls of Glory, before the world was ever created, that Jesus would come to this earth, die for sinners, and rise from the grave. The plan of salvation excludes no one who comes to God through Jesus, these are the predestinated one; The plan excludes only those who do not come to God, through Jesus. (Eph 1:1-14) “Moreover“, (the word moreover, is used here to indicate, here is more information which supports the previous statements) “Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called; and whom he called, them he also justified,” (Dikaloo - Greek - to show or regard as just or innocent, righteous) “and whom he justified, them he also glorified“. (Doxazo - Greek- to render glorious. (Romans 8:30) And notice too, this verse is stated in the past tense, to show us that this process is as sure as if it already been fulfilled. (3) “What shall we say to these things? If God be for us who can be against us? He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also
freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? (Romans 8:31) These passages of Scripture, (Romans 8:28-39) confirm that salvation is by “grace” and also, that those who experience the gift of salvation are eternally secure. Nothing can separate us from the love of God, because the entire process is by grace. The foundation of salvation’s plan, and the entire work of redemption, is predicated on what Jesus would do for us, what he did do for us, and what he is still doing for us, even today; and not on what we do. “By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better Testament” (Hebrews 7:22) Testament means covenant, The New Covenant, wherein all sins are forgiven, with the promise that they will never be remember. (Hebrews 8:10-13) Surety -(guarantor: somebody who pledges that another's obligations will be met in case of default) Jesus paid the debt on our behalf; the debt none of us could pay; and, in so doing, Jesus the Christ, the anointed one, assumed the responsibility for our past, our present, and our future. That is Grace! God is not against us, he is for us. The saved will make it to heaven, not because we have been good, but because God is good and has been good to us. “He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him, freely give us all things? (Romans 8:32) “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? (Those who are called by the Holy Spirit, and yield to God’s will in repentance and trust in Jesus) It is God that justifieth. (Romans 8:33) “Who is he that condemeth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or pearl, or sword? “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us” “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God , which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We have not obtained Salvation because we won the contest, and conquered the enemy. How can sheep who are accounted for the slaughter be more than conquerors? (Romans 8:36-37) This is a paradox! What does it mean to be more than a conqueror? It means to be victorious because another won the victory for us, and will never let us be defeated. That someone is Jesus Christ! Our victory over sin, death, and hell belongs to Christ, not to us. Jesus, by the “Grace of God” tasted death for every man. Hebrews 2:9)
“Understanding God’s Grace” By
Elder Billy L. Moran
Lesson Scripture: Romans 8:28-39 INTRODUCTION- The “Triune God” possesses many attributes that are essential to his being. A few of God’s necessary qualities are, Love, Goodness, Holiness, Truth, Mercy, Justice, Wisdom, Power, and Grace. All of these qualities are found in “Him“. By the term “in Him” I mean, in the one true God as expressed in The Father, The Son, and The Holy Ghost. “… these three are one! (1 John 5:7b) What is said of one, may be said of all, for he is one. These eternal qualities constitute the essence of our Eternal God. I don’t claim to understand everything about God and his Grace; and no one else should make such a claim. Zophar, said to Job, “… Oh that God would speak….that he would show thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! (is known) Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth”. (Job 11:5-9) John Gill, in his “Body of Divinity” says, “He (God) was “Grace” before he exhibited grace, and would have been forever the same if he had never displayed his grace to any of his creatures.” This is true! God extends grace to us: Why? Because he is “full of grace“. DEFINING GRACE - Baker’s Dictionary of Theology says, “many words convey one or more aspects of the doctrine of Grace.” (And, that is necessary because no one word could convey the fullness of God’s Grace. blm) The two (words) which most comprehensively express the New Testament word “Charis” (which is Greek for Grace) are “hen” and “hesed”. The former (hen) bears the predominant sense of favor, with an undertone of meaning that the favor is undeserved.” “The word hesed, most often translated “loving-kindness“ or “mercy” has also, though not invariably, the association of the covenant that God makes with his people: “The Lord appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee” (Jeremiah 31:3) Now that is Grace! “Hath God cast away his people? God forbid.” (Romans 11:1) Paul continues, “Even so then at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.” (Here is my interpretation of the “Election of Grace“: God elected, or made the choice, to deal with the human family, in, by, and through grace, because of his everlasting love and mercy to all the world, not just to selected individuals) “And if by grace then it is no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace; otherwise work is no more work.” (Romans 11:5-6) (1) The Bible says, “…God who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
even when we were dead in sins hath quickened us together with Christ; (By grace ye are saved;)” …. “That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus, for by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of your selves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Eph. 2:4-8). After writing about the source of the original sin, and it’s destructive consequences upon Adam’s race, Paul, declares, “… where sin abounded, grace did much more abound“ (Romans 5:20b). NOAH WEBSTER’S DICTIONARY of 1828 defines Grace: “The free unmerited love and favor of God; the spring and source of all benefits men receive from him. (See James 1:17) I believe the Grace of God is a display of God’s love, which is bestowed in a generous manner to sinners who are undeserving, and totally unworthy (blm) The grace of God comes from the goodness of his being, and not from anything in man. Grace is wholly independent of any merit, or worth in man; or any works he may perform. Some people have difficulty rightly dividing the scriptures, because they don’t understand the sovereignty of God. When Moses ask to see the Glory of God, God responded, “I will make my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the Name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy to whom I will show mercy”. (Exodus 33:19) Now what did Moses see? God showed Moses his “Goodness“ and his “Glory“! And that is the source of Grace. My question to you; Has God ever hid you in the cleft of the rock, as he passed by? What did you see? Did you see a shape or a form? No? I’m sure you did not. I suggest, that what you saw was a manifestation of “God’s Goodness”. Make no mistake, God is Sovereign! And,.. God has an Eternal Purpose; and,… God works all things after the counsel of his own will. (Ephesians 1:11) So,.. in eternity before he ever made the world, or man, because of his goodness, (not willing that any should perish, 2 Peter 3:9) God made a plan whereby any one and everyone of the fallen race of man could be redeemed. (1 Pet 1:18-21) (could be, not would be) God elected to be gracious to the whole human race, which was the exercise of God’s sovereign will. Jesus said, “If I,… be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. (John 12:32) Redemption is the “Work of Grace“. In my studies, I found a definition for the term redeemed: To buy back and restore; to make something or someone acceptable in spite of the negative qualities. That is a good definition of grace. Redeemed ones have a standing in the grace of God, in spite of our negative qualities. (Romans 5:1-2) (2) NOW TO THE LESSON TEXT - Here is an good example of “GRACE”! “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose”. (Romans 8:28)
The 8th Chapter of Romans begins with, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus“,… (Romans 1:1) and ends with, “…I am persuaded that nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord; (Romans 8:38-39) And in between it says, “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.” And what is his Purpose? To have a people redeemed from their sin by his grace. WHO ARE THE CALLED? The word “called”, in this text, in the Greek is Kletos; “the invited“, those who accepted the invitation. Remember what Jesus taught. “A certain man made a great supper and bade (invited) many; Some made excuses, and turned down the invitation. So, the man said, “I say unto you, that none of those men which were bidden (invited, and turned down the invitation) shall taste of my supper.” (Luke 14:15-24) It wasn’t that they were not invited, they turned down the invitation! The sovereign will of God was and is, that mankind would have the freedom to choose good and evil, right and wrong, heaven or hell, salvation or destruction. Each individual is responsible for his or her own actions, and our choices will have a direct bearing on our lives, even in eternity. But, our choices do not “affect” or “effect” the grace of God! Then, Paul says, “For whom he did foreknow“, (Proginosko- Greek - to know before hand, God knew the end from the beginning, (Isaiah 46:9-10) “he also did predestinate” (Proorizo - Greek - pre-determine and ordain) “to be conformed” (Summorphoo - Greek - to render like) “to the image of his dear son….,” (Roman 8:29) I want to state again, the predestinated ones, are those who are invited and have accepted the invitation. This is not talking about sinners being predestinated to salvation. For no sinner has ever been predestinated to be saved. That would have contradicted the free agency of man. The only person whose eternal destiny has ever been predetermined is Jesus Christ. It was determined in the Counsel Halls of Glory, before the world was ever created, that Jesus would come to this earth, die for sinners, and rise from the grave. The plan of salvation excludes no one who comes to God through Jesus, these are the predestinated one; The plan excludes only those who do not come to God, through Jesus. (Eph 1:1-14) “Moreover“, (the word moreover, is used here to indicate, here is more information which supports the previous statements) “Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called; and whom he called, them he also justified,” (Dikaloo - Greek - to show or regard as just or innocent, righteous) “and whom he justified, them he also glorified“. (Doxazo - Greek- to render glorious. (Romans 8:30) And notice too, this verse is stated in the past tense, to show us that this process is as sure as if it already been fulfilled. (3) “What shall we say to these things? If God be for us who can be against us? He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also
freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? (Romans 8:31) These passages of Scripture, (Romans 8:28-39) confirm that salvation is by “grace” and also, that those who experience the gift of salvation are eternally secure. Nothing can separate us from the love of God, because the entire process is by grace. The foundation of salvation’s plan, and the entire work of redemption, is predicated on what Jesus would do for us, what he did do for us, and what he is still doing for us, even today; and not on what we do. “By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better Testament” (Hebrews 7:22) Testament means covenant, The New Covenant, wherein all sins are forgiven, with the promise that they will never be remember. (Hebrews 8:10-13) Surety -(guarantor: somebody who pledges that another's obligations will be met in case of default) Jesus paid the debt on our behalf; the debt none of us could pay; and, in so doing, Jesus the Christ, the anointed one, assumed the responsibility for our past, our present, and our future. That is Grace! God is not against us, he is for us. The saved will make it to heaven, not because we have been good, but because God is good and has been good to us. “He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him, freely give us all things? (Romans 8:32) “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? (Those who are called by the Holy Spirit, and yield to God’s will in repentance and trust in Jesus) It is God that justifieth. (Romans 8:33) “Who is he that condemeth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or pearl, or sword? “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us” “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God , which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We have not obtained Salvation because we won the contest, and conquered the enemy. How can sheep who are accounted for the slaughter be more than conquerors? (Romans 8:36-37) This is a paradox! What does it mean to be more than a conqueror? It means to be victorious because another won the victory for us, and will never let us be defeated. That someone is Jesus Christ! Our victory over sin, death, and hell belongs to Christ, not to us. Jesus, by the “Grace of God” tasted death for every man. Hebrews 2:9)
