A Pauline Lesson on the Grace of God

Tonight bring you a message entitled Pauline lesson on the grace of God the grace of God. The word grace comes from the Greek word Caras which means favor blessing or kindness and wish when we speak of the grace of God were speaking of God in his choosing to bless and favor us rather than curse us as our sins deserve. Grace is love in action towards men who merit the opposite.

Grace means God moving heaven and earth to save sinners who could not lift one solitary finger to save themselves grace. The grace of God permeates the entirety of Scripture. It is the subject of much of our hymnody. There are many adjectives used to describe the grace of God, wondrous sufficient, efficacious, redeeming, wonderful. We speak of the convicting grace of God we speak of the converting grace of God we speak of the persevering grace of God we speak of the sanctifying grace of God.

The hymn writer says grace such as charming sound. Grace is majestic. It's marvelous, it's magnanimous. Grace is overflowing its matchless your following me and trying to get your mind around those adjectives. You notice that I omitted the word that John Newton marries to grace and that is amazing, amazing, amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. The third stands of Newton's him says through many dangers, toils and snares I have already come to his grace has brought me safe thus far and grace will lead me home. Newton is communicating the sense of our need of the grace of God throughout our entire earthly sojourn. We sing Chris Anderson's him relentless love what Chris Anderson speaks in regards to the love of God could just as accurately be spoken and set of the grace of God. He speaks relentless love say relentless grace embraced my soul in ages past, but he says relentless love embrace my soul in ages past. Love undeserved unknown yet deep and vast God set his love on me on me in spite of me. Salvation's work is his from first to last, relentless love pursued my heart though I would hi was on returned yet on deterred by pride to buyer grace unsought my rebel soul was caught redeemed by love that would not be denied. Relentless love preserves my life from unbelief sustains me through my sin, my doubt, since Christ has done it all though feeble. I'll not fall is wounded hands hold me, the sinner's chief relentless love transforms my soul and its delights exceeds the fleeting joys, which once sufficed held by his love for me a hold which sets me free. I have my hearts desire, and that is Christ than the refrain unbounded love, unfailing love, love raised upon a tree unending love prevailing love my saviors love for me, but I think tonight is the grace of God Pauline lesson on the grace of God. Psalm 23 all sure familiar with it. It ends with these words.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Goodness and mercy and we could say love and grace.

Those wonderful salvation benefits and attributes follow us pursue us accompany us all the days of our life.

So it is grace that saves us, it is grace that sustains us and it is grace that ultimately will lead and accompanying us all the way to heaven. The Bible commands us to grow in the grace and knowledge of God question how do we access the grace of God. How does the grace of God come to us.

How do we access it.

Well, you might say well it's something that's bestowed its something that's sourced in God and I agree with that, let me ask another challenging question, not just how do we access the grace of God. But what does the grace of God looked like. Was it look like Paul letter to Titus chapter 2 he's penned these words for the grace of God hath appeared to all men teaching us that denying on godliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ the grace of God. Paul says that brings salvation has appeared is made an appearance well when you think through what Paul is communicating there to Titus and to us.

It's obvious to us that the grace of God is personified in the person of Jesus Christ.

The grace of God that brings salvation has a another way of saying what the same thing is the Lord Jesus Christ to bring salvation has appeared to all men.

There's two appearance in those couple of verses that is the grace of God to bring salvation has appeared, and we are to be looking anticipating the glorious hope and what the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. John one chapter 1 verse 17 tells us that the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. So how is grace access. What does grace look like is personified in the person of Jesus Christ who is the living word who has given us the written word. So again, back to the question.

As believers, how do we access the grace of God will tonight I want to take you on of that of a different journey than we typically do on in a sermon going to look at the salutation and the conclusion of the 13 New Testament letters that Paul human author wrote of the 27 books that make up the New Testament. Paul wrote nearly half of them and of the 17 books there are, what their five historical books. The four Gospels and the book of acts or the five historical books.

Some would argue perhaps the revelation is historical and I believe in part, that it is but the book of Revelation is in another category it's in the category of prophecy is prophetic so we have the five historical books. We have the one prophetic book which leaves us with what 21 books, letters, and of those, Paul wrote 13 of them.

The human author and of those 13 nine were written to churches and for were written. The individuals to the churches.

He wrote to the church of Rome. He wrote to the church in Carnegie wrote two letters to that church. He wrote to the church at Galatia. The church at Ephesus, the church at Philippi. The church at Colossae and then he wrote two letters to the church at Thessalonica. The makeup of the nine letters to the churches, and then he wrote for individual letters, wrote two letters to Timothy. He wrote one letter to Titus and then he wrote a short letter to Philemon. What I want to draw your attention tonight as we consider a Pauline lesson lesson in the grace of God is that without exception.

You see a pattern in all of the Pauline letters, both the nine letters that he wrote to the churches and the four letters that he wrote to individuals a pattern in the salutation and the conclusion in regard to the grace of God, spoke to this year to maybe three years or so ago on a Wednesday night, very, very briefly, and I've had cause to go back and rethink this and revisit it in my mind more rounded into put it into a preaching format so that's what I'm doing tonight, and I have three points to this Pauline lesson on the grace of God I want you to see with me. Number one the promise of the grace of God.

Number two the dispensing the grace of God and then finally the retention of the grace of God, and I hope you're quick with your fingers tonight because I want you to see this pattern in it is interesting thing to observe so again were going to walk through Paul's 13 letters very very quickly because I want to show you this pattern. Follow with me begins in Romans just going to look at the salutation just one brief thing and then look at the conclusion of these books, these letters Paul's writing to the church in Rome and he says this in verse seven of chapter 1 to all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints. Grace there is are subject grace to you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ. What I want you to observe is prepositions in all 13 letters that Paul is a human author of inspired by God. You see this preposition in relationship to the grace of God in the salutation the preposition to sometimes it's associated with peace and mercy, but grace is always present. Grace to you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ and then Paul communicates divine truth, and then you come to the end of Romans Romans chapter 16 verse 24. Paul says the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be out a different preposition and it is the preposition with the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. A man is what he says in Romans and were going to look quickly at the other 10 letters that he wrote in see this pattern and end this is present without exception. In every single one of Paul's letters notice with me first Corinthians chapter 1 verse three grace to you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ and then chapter 16 verse 23 the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be what be with you as those same two prepositions, grace to you in the salutation. Grace be with you in the conclusion. Second Corinthians chapter 1 verse two. Paul's writing again to the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Acadia verse two, grace to you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Chapter 13 concludes this letter, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. Then Galatians chapter 1 verse two, grace to you and peace from God the father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Galatians 6 verse 18.

The very last verse brethren. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, amen. Say well can you just say this is true in all the letters you have to look at everyone. Yeah, I think, do you think we need to see this pattern because there's some very strong implications here and I don't want you to miss it. I certainly didn't want to miss it so Ephesians chapter 1 verse two well verse one to the saints who are in Ephesus and faithful to Christ Jesus, grace to you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 6 the very last thing Paul says to the church.

Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen. All drop letter to the church at Philippi verse two, chapter 1 grace again to you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Chapter 4 verse 23. Again, the very last thing he says in this letter, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen church the letter to the church at Colossae chapter 1 verse two to the saints, and the faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colossae. Grace to you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Again the very last thing he says in chapter 4 verse 18. He says the salutation. This salutation by my own hand.

Paul remember my chains. Grace be with you. Amen. Then the church at Thessalonica. Chapter 1 verse one Paul savanna sent Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians in God the father of the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Chapter 5 again the very last thing he says in the letter. Verse 28 the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be what the with you. Amen.

The second letter to the church. Verse two Grace to you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Again the very last thing he says in a second letter.

Verse 18 of chapter 3 the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

Amen. And then the individual letters to Timothy chapter 1 verse one Paul and apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ. Our hope to Timothy, a true son in the faith.

Grace, mercy and peace from God our father and Jesus Christ our Lord and in the very last thing he says in that letter. Grace be with you. Amen. Chapter 6 and verse 21. The second letter. Chapter 1 verse two Timothy a beloved son.

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the father and Christ Jesus our Lord. Again the very last thing he says chapter 4 verse 22 the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

Grace be with you. Amen. And then Titus chapter 1 verse four to Titus, a true son in our common faith, grace, mercy, and peace from God the father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior. Your and again chapter 3 and verse 15. The last thing he says again all who are with me greet you greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen. And in the final personal letter. The short letter to Philemon. Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon, our beloved friend and fellow labor verse three grace to you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ and again. The last thing he says, verse 25 of of of the letter, one chapter only the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, amen. Now that is a consistent pattern without exception, every single one of the Pauline letters, no unconvinced, and I hope you are as well that this is not just an observation of literary style by a human author. This is supernaturally inspired Scripture God is communicating something I believe profound to us the word of God is the channel the word of God is the mean that God uses to communicate this all important supernatural supply to sustain and grow our lives were not talking about talking about his grace back to my three points number one.

The promise of the grace of God, the preposition to communicates source or intent. Did you notice that most of the time those the braces sourced in God the father and other times it sourced in God the father and his son the Lord Jesus Christ. It's got a divine source but here's my point. The preposition to communicates source or intent, and thus I chose the descriptive word prompts in relation to the grace of God. Paul is on the authority of the word of God on the.

The fact of inspiration. He is saying the grace of God to you.

It's a promise. It's an intent to Paul is communicating that God is communicating through Paul. Thus, the promise of the grace of God my second point is the dispensing of the grace of God the dispensing of the grace of God. Paul's intent at the beginning of every one of his letters and the salutation is a declaration that God is intending to communicate grace this all important, all pervasive message the grace of God and what follows the salutation is Paul's declaration of those aspects of the grace of God and is different depending on the church and depending on the needs but in essence it is grace, it's being communicated in the transmission of the truth that Paul is giving to them. Paul is dispensing the grace of God. So not only the promise of the grace of God in the dispensing of the grace of God, but number three. The retention of the grace of God.

The retention of the grace of God, the preposition with that is attached to the grace of God at the end of every single one of Paul's letters and many times it's the last thing that he says nothing after that's the last thing he says the preposition with communicates God's intention not only to communicate grace and dispense grace but that this particular manifestation of grace might be with you might stay with you. Thus, the rationale for my choosing that descriptive word, the retention in regard to the grace of God. So the promise of the grace of God the dispensing of the grace of God number three.

The retention of the grace of God. What are some implications to this Pauline lesson on the grace of God. While I believe there are implications for churches for anyone who handles the word of God with that be a pastor, whether that be a teacher and for individual believers.

Let's think about these implications number one implications for churches Paul wrote those nine letters to local churches in particular cities and what was his message to the local churches. It was a message predominantly other things but one thing that was consistent in every single one of the letters the very beginning it that in the salutation he was alerting them that he was communicating to them a message about the grace of God and the fit was that important in the mind of God to communicate this through Paul to every one of these churches without exception, I don't think that it's any less important in our day that that should be a predominant theme. It should characterize the message. It should permeate all that we do in the local church. Local church is not a place for entertainment. The local church is a place of dispensing truth truth about the grace of God and how have we missed that.

I know I'm not speaking about, particularly beacon Baptist Church but I'm speaking about what we observe a cross are the landscape in our country messages about anything and everything, but the grace of God.

So there's implications here for churches that it should drive our methodology. Our theology shooting warm. Our methodology this is a lesson in theology and our methodology ought to be connected with our understanding of theology and that's why we are who we are here at beacon Baptist Church unapologetically we preach about the grace of God we teach about the grace of God we sing about the grace of God we extol the virtues of the grace of God we should never tire of that and the good thing is you can't plumb the depths of that subject will never get tired of it will never exhausted. There's always new things to learn about the grace of God. So number one implications for churches number two implications for pastors for teachers.

What is a pastor. What is a teacher, a pastor or teacher is a human instrument to do what to transmit a message of the grace of God. Now not in the same way Paul did is an inspired messenger but nonetheless we stand with a message.

We have been commissioned as ambassadors to represent King Jesus and his kingdom were not we have. We do not have the liberty to invent our own message. We only have a message that is been delivered to us that were to communicate and that message is a message about the grace of God and again the lots of things that we could say that would be perhaps helpful, but there aren't those things that were only interested in doing those things that God has instructed us to do, though, has the blessing of God upon the spiritual well-being of people's lives can get all kinds of self-help books and talks and all of that, but the church should not be a place for that. We have a message that has been entrusted to us where to be stewards of it as pastors as teachers and we will be judged according to our faithfulness to that charge.

We have a life and death message.

We have a life-giving message. We hold forth the message of the grace of God that all sinners are in need of. So here are implications not only for the local church, but for pastors and for teachers and then implications. Third, for individual believers for individual believers, we should never tire of hearing the word of God. Why because it is through the word of God, that the grace of God is communicated to us and we stand in need of it every day of God's promise to dispense it to us as long as were on this earth and making our way in this pilgrimage than how is God going to dispense it to us is going to dispense it to us through his inspired word and therefore is individual believers, we should avail ourselves of every opportunity afforded to us to be where the word is preached. Now these are unprecedented times. We understand that you can't be present here in the service but a large number of you are gathered around your and receiving the word of God in that way grateful for these means, but the public preaching of the word. We should have a growing hunger and thirst for that. Not only that, but our own personal lives. Our devotional lives, we should be men and women who are given to the intake of the word of God because we know that that's how grace is going to be transmitted to us. As I've shown you here in this theological pattern in Paul's letters, we should be men and women who are given to memorizing the word of God, having it easily assessable to us. I'm so encouraged to hear of men who have a commute and they tell me that the download messages in the listen to preaching. They listen to various speakers to and from work. Being a good steward of that time. This growing in the grace of God is not a is not a nebulous thing, it's something that's very objective intangible. We grow in the grace of God through these ordained means that God is given is not just subjective. It's not just mystical and I love the way Paul and other New Testament writers communicate their desire. There recipients in relation to the grace of God, they will say things like grace be added to you are at other times. Grace be multiplied to you. Now, as I thought about those two different ways addition and multiplication. And I thought about locate what in what ways is grace multiplied to us as opposed to simply add to us and I thought about you know concentrated times that are purposeful around the word of God. For instance, we have a Bible conference coming up. There will be a concentrated time around the word of God. Sunday morning Sunday night Monday night Tuesday night Wednesday night Monday afternoon and is we give ourselves to those times of the public ministry of the word. I believe those are times that God multiplies grace to us now is just not in the transmission of the grace of God there has to be a reciprocal response. On the other end of the grace of God we can have a heart that is cold and indifferent in insensitive than our art can be is Hargis Stoneman. There is not the reception of the word of God and thus we don't profit from the grace of God comes to us, but I heard somebody talk to me recently about a grandchild and how that grandchild. I think it thinking it was nine or 10 years of age in one year measurably grew 4 inches.

I'm thinking that's not just adding stature to your life. That's stature being multiplied to your lot and you see wheat we don't grow it in that dimension out all the time.

There are seasons and I believe God ordained seasons for our life concentrated times where our heart is more suitable toward the intake of the grace of God.

Our schedules are freer are our commitments are more in keeping with this concentrated times at Bible college and seminary preparation for ministry. Those were times it.

Grace was multiplied to me to think of other particulars that would flush that out, but grace being added to his grace being multiplied to us, but we are commanded role in the grace and in the knowledge of God. So I trust that you will benefit from this theological lesson on the grace of God that you will have a new appreciation that God is conveying to us. He is intent is purpose in exposing us to the word of God. We stand in need of grace. God knows that God has arranged the means for grace to be trance mid to us. We have the promise of it right.

The promise of the grace of God, and we have the hope by the spirit of God's help. The retention of the word of God is its transmitted to us so when you approach the word of God, whether it be in a public setting, or whether it be in a personal setting. I hope that it does something to convict us of perhaps a lacks the days of latitude with the come to the word of God with a fresh appreciation God as a desire of purpose and intent to communicate grace to me right now. Through this means and therefore I'm open to it.

I want to see it.

I want to receive it.

I want to benefit from it all. God may be adding to me. Oh God may be multiplied to me for my good for my growth for my growth in Christ likeness for my conformity to the per person that God intends for me to be that I will be one day when God is done when God is through with his redeeming purposes in my life and in your life. So thank you tonight for following this is a bit of it's been, as I spoke to you earlier. It's a little out of the ordinary. But I think something I found to be very, very, very helpful. I trust that you will retain this message and perhaps pass it on to some others use it in your devotions use it in your family times. What a way to convey to our children the importance of setting humbly and submissively under the word of God, knowing God's intent. God's promised meet our need for the grace of God. God is shown is how we will communicate that grace of God and as that grace is been communing fated to us.

We have it with us. Therefore we can retain it for our benefit and for group.

Shall we pray father, thank you for your supernatural inspired word. We thank you that it is sufficient for all of life and godliness. We thank you that is able to save to the uttermost and we thank you that it is the means whereby babies grow up into mature men and women argues that in our hearts and lives now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all a men