But By Grace

Have you ever felt forgiveness was unfair? Are there some people who are just not good forgiveness material? I mean there are those who just hurt others by mistake. And then there are those evil people who do not deserve to be forgiven.

Forgiveness is unfair! How can God let off a person who has treated another so unfairly? Thief on the cross – has probably robbed others violently murdered & perhaps raped; and now just before he is executed, he repents and gives his life to God. And Jesus says to him, ‘this day you will be with me in paradise…’ That doesn’t feel right! What about the families of those he hurt? What if one of his victims overheard these words of Jesus? What, you mean I’ll find this guy in heaven! He and I will sit next to Jesus, despite the fact that I’ve done my best to live a good life? No way! He does not deserve to be in heaven!

Read Ephesians 2:1-9 (NIV)

1-3 ‘As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest we were by nature objects of wrath’…

Paul says without Christ, we were all dead. ‘Death’ is a term of uniformity. If you visit a morgue, you would find that some died of illness, some from accidents and some of old age. Some died more recently than others. Some were rich and some were poor. But all are uniformly dead. In English, you can compare people of different heights; ‘tall, taller, tallest’. You can compare people of different social status; ‘rich, richer, richest’. But you can’t say this person is dead – deader – deadest. There’s no middle ground; you’re either dead or alive.

And Paul says, ‘all of you – before you received Christ – that was your true condition!’ Sometimes it’s easy to think, ‘Even before I got saved, I wasn’t really one of those bad people; I was obedient and kind; I’m not perfect but I’m not evil either!’ I may not be an A but I’m at least a strong C+!’

Paul says:- without a relationship with Christ, that is completely irrelevant, because you are still dead!

The interesting thing about dead people is that they don’t know they’re dead! Dead people are completely cut off from life and they don’t even know it! The same is true in the spiritual realm.

A person who is spiritually dead cannot respond to spiritual things.

He is completely cut off from God – the true source of life. He has no spiritual sense or capacity to respond. And he doesn’t even know his true condition! And Paul goes on to say, ‘we were by nature objects of wrath’. By nature – refers to that which comes through birth rather than that which is acquired later – sin is our natural condition, and we pass it on to our children. You don’t have to teach them how to sin – it comes with the package!

We don’t become spiritually dead because we sin; we sin because we are spiritually dead.

Even our best efforts are tainted with evil motives; even our best efforts cannot please God. This is the sad human condition that human beings all over the world have tried to remedy.

In every culture, the one thing that distinguishes human beings from animals is not intelligence but religion. Humans everywhere sense there is a Higher Being and also sense there’s something wrong in our relationship with this Higher Being. Religion is our attempt to solve this problem and appease God. Sacrifices, observing certain rituals, having good morals, etc.

But no matter how hard we try, we can’t work ourselves back into a relationship with God. We are dead! And there’s nothing we can do… to save ourselves.

Who’s the worst person who ever lived? Hitler? Charles Taylor? Idi Amin? The people who deserve a special seat in the hottest corner of hell! Who’s the best person who ever lived? Mother Theresa? The people who deserve an especially nice mansion in heaven! Where do you fit? Somewhere in between I imagine! Where is God’s pass mark? Not even Mother Theresa is anywhere close! Rom.3:23 ‘all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory’

And that’s why this passage is such GOOD NEWS for us let’s continue reading

4-9 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ EVEN WHILE WE WERE DEAD in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved. And God RAISED US UP with Christ and SEATED US with him in the HEAVENLY REALMS in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus

At the moment you receive Christ, the Bible says you become spiritually alive. It’s not something you do for yourself; it’s something that is done for you. For the first time you become sensitive to God. You now have the capacity to understand spiritual truth and seek godly things. Things that didn’t make sense to you before now begin to make sense. Desires you couldn’t have before now you begin to have.

The Bible says;

‘Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires, but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires’ (Rom. 8:5).

Yes we still have to reckon with our sinful nature and wage war against it. But the bible says we are no longer slaves to sin but slaves to righteousness (Rom.6:18). We now have the ability to say no to sin and to refuse to be ruled by it (Rom.6:11-14). This doesn’t happen because we’re so good or qualified. It is purely because of God’s love and mercy. And that is why our passage says

‘For it is by grace you have been saved through faith – and THIS IS NOT FROM YOURSELVES, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.’

What I’m saying is that there’s nothing so good you can ever do to make God love you more. Isa.64:6 tells us that without Christ, ‘all our righteous works are like filthy rags’. Going to church, being good, speaking the truth, giving to the poor – none of these acts can make me right with God. There is nothing I can do to save myself. I can’t make myself less dead! It is only when I surrender my life to God and accept His gift of forgiveness that He gives me life. And even after I get this life, I still can’t please God on my own – I still need His grace – continually – to help me to live well, to help me to overcome my challenges, to help me to keep serving Him.

That’s why it’s insane for me to look down on anybody. It doesn’t matter how wicked they are. There but for the grace of God I would be. That abusive father is probably a little boy who was abused by someone he trusted. That harsh boss is probably a little girl who never felt her father’s acceptance. That baby daddy who abandoned you was probably abandoned when he was young and trusting. I’m not excusing their sin but I’m saying under the same conditions, I am probably capable of the same. There but for the grace of God I would be! Tell your neighbor ‘but for grace!’

God’s grace to me is the only reason I can forgive the unforgivable.

Because I too have been forgiven, and am continually forgiven…To hate is to pull myself down to the level of someone who doesn’t understand what has been done for me. My ability to forgive is inspired by understanding that I owe my very life to God. He forgave me even though I did not deserve it. I may not have done what the other person did but my sin was just as ugly before God. I can forgive because I am forgiven.

BUT FOR GRACE!

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