A Few Words About Grace
I.
The Nature of Grace
1. Grace is God acting freely, according
to His own nature as Love; with no promises or
obligations to fulfill; and acting of course,
righteously—in view of the cross.
2. Grace, therefore, is uncaused
in the recipient: its cause lies wholly in the GIVER,
in GOD.
3. Grace, also is sovereign.
Not having debts to pay, or fulfilled conditions on
man’s part to wait for, it can act toward whom, and
how, it pleases. It can, and does, often, place the
worst deservers in the highest favors.
4. Grace
cannot act where there is either desert or ability:
Grace does not help--it is absolute, it does all.
5. There being no cause in the creature
why Grace should be shown, the creature must be brought
of from trying to give cause to God for His Grace.
6. The discovery by the creature that he
is truly the object of Divine grace, works the utmost
humility: for the receiver of grace is brought to know
his own absolute unworthiness, and his complete
inability to attain worthiness: yet he finds himself
blessed,—on another principle, outside of himself!
7. Therefore, flesh has no place in the
plan of Grace. This is the great reason why Grace is
hated by the proud natural mind of man. But for this
very reason, the true believer rejoices!! For he knows
that “in him, that is, in his flesh, is no good thing”;
and yet he finds God glad to bless him, just as he is!
II. The Place of Man under
Grace
1. He
has been accepted in Christ, who is his standing!
2. He is not “on probation.”
3. As to his life past, it does not
exist before God: he died at the Cross, and Christ is
his life.
4. Grace, once bestowed, is not
withdrawn: for God knew all the human exigencies
beforehand: His action was independent of them, not
dependent upon them.
5. The failure of devotion does not
cause the withdrawal of bestowed grace (as it would
under law). For example: the man in I Cor. 5.1-5; and
also those in 11.30-32, who did not “judge” themselves,
and so were “judged by the Lord---that they might not be
condemned with the world”!
III. The Proper Attitude
of Man under Grace
1. To
believe, and to consent to be loved while unworthy, is
the great secret.
2. To refuse to make “resolutions” and
“vows”; for that is to trust in the flesh.
3. To expect to be blessed, though
realizing more and more lack of worth.
4. To testify of God’s goodness, at all
times.
5. To be certain of God’s future favor;
yet to be ever more tender in conscience toward Him.
6. To rely on God’s chastening hand as
a mark of His kindness.
7 A man under grace, if like Paul, has
no burdens regarding himself; but many about others.
IV.
Things Which Gracious Souls Discover
1 To
“hope to be better” is to fail to see yourself in Christ
only.
2. To be disappointed with yourself, is
to have believed in yourself.
3. To be discouraged Is unbelief,--as to
God’s purpose and plan of blessing for you.
4 To be proud, is to be blind! For we
have no standing before God, in ourselves.
5. The lack of Divine blessing,
therefore, comes from unbelief, and not from failure of
devotion.
6. Real devotion to God arises, not
from man’s will to show it; but from the discovery that
blessing has been received from God while we were yet
unworthy and undevoted.
7. To preach devotion first,, and
blessing second, is to reverse God’s order, and preach
law, not grace. The Law made man’s blessing depend on
devotion; Grace confers undeserved, unconditional
blessing: our devotion may follow, but does not always
do so,--in proper measure.
William Newell,
Romans, Verse by Verse
