Amazing
Grace
In
the last issue of this journal we learned that God loves us and that He
has proved His love for us with many wonderful actions. In this issue, I
intend to examine the basis of our relationship with God. There would be
no need to examine this if it were not for the fact that we can have
many types of relationship, each of which may be grounded on a different
basis. The need for this examination becomes even more important, when
the fear many Christians have that their relationship with God may one
day end, probably because of some mistakes that (they worry) may
displease God, is taken into account. In this issue it will be shown
that our relationship with God cannot be terminated because it is a
grace-based relationship, NOT a works-based relationship.
1. What is
grace?
The word
"grace" used in the English Bibles is a translation of the
Greek word "charis" . "Charis" means "free
undeserved favour". In the Bible, it means "God's unmerited
favour". The importance of understanding precisely the meaning of
this word cannot be overstated since all too often people confuse grace
with works. However, grace and works are entirely different things.
Romans 4:4 tells us:
Romans 4:4
"Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift,
but as an obligation"
(NIV)
In
that passage the word "gift" is the word "charis" in
the Greek text, which as we have learned means grace (it is rendered so
in the KJV). What this passage tells us is that when someone works for
something that which receives back is a reward for his work. This reward
therefore is not given to him by grace because he worked for it,
and thus he deserved it. Equally, when the Word of God says something
has been given to us by grace it means that it has been given to us as a
gift, as something for which we didn't qualify and for which we didn't
work. It is clear therefore that something either will be earned by
works or will be given by grace. It cannot be both by works and by grace
at the same time. Difficulties in understanding and accepting this fact
have caused many Christians, instead of enjoying what they already have
by grace and utilise it to build their fellowship with God, to try to
achieve by works what they already have.
Another passage which defines grace
and its relation to works is found in Romans 11:6.
Romans 11:6
"And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were (i.e.
by works), grace would no longer be grace."
(NIV)
This
passage explains us, once more, what we already have seen: if something
is gained by works then it could not be by grace since otherwise
"grace would no longer be grace"!!! How clear and pure is the
Word of God. Many of us when we go to the Word of God, we think that
what we read has to mean something different than what is said; We must,
at the end of the day, understand that the Word of God means what it
says and says what it means. It is our refusal to accept the Word of
God which has produced all these strange ideas that gift means wage and
grace means works. We go to the Word of God with the preconceived idea
that we must do something to achieve a right position before God and
when we see that the Word of God says that this right position has been
granted to us by grace, through the accomplishments of the Lord Jesus
Christ, then we worry what is wrong with the Word. Rather, we should and
must ask what is wrong with our preconceived ideas. When you go to the
Word of God YOU MUST NEVER GO WITH ANY PRECONCEIVED IDEAS. You must go
with the intention to fit your ideas to the Bible and not the Bible to
your preconceived ideas. With regard to the topic of salvation and
righteousness that is examined here and seeing the confusion that
abounds about it, it is little wonder God paid such special attention to
telling us that when He says grace He means grace and not works!!! May
we understand and appreciate God's special attention.
2. Righteous,
saved by grace
The good news1
contained in the part of the Word of God which is addressed to the
believers after the day of Pentecost is that Jesus Christ met all the
required conditions so that by just believing in him you are righteous
and saved. This is really good news, isn't it? Ephesians tells us:
Ephesians 2:8
"For BY GRACE you are saved through faith: and this not from
yourselves: it is the GIFT of God: Not by works, so that no-one can
boast"
(NIV-KJV)
Also: Romans 3:20-23, 28
"Therefore NO-ONE will be declared righteous in his (God's) sight
by the works of the law; rather through the law we become conscious of
sin. But NOW the righteousness from God, apart from the law has been
made known, to which the law and the Prophets testify. THIS
RIGHTEOUSNESS FROM GOD COMES THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST TO ALL WHO
BELIEVE. For there is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short
of the glory of God, and ARE JUSTIFIED FREELY BY HIS GRACE THROUGH THE
REDEMPTION THAT IS IN CHRIST JESUS......Therefore we conclude that a man
is justified by faith without the works of the law"
(NIV-KJV)
The
above passages, in addition to many others, state that our salvation and
our right standing before God, i.e. our righteousness, are not based on
how many good works we did, do or will do but on the grace of God.
According to the above passages, even if you kept all the law you could
not be righteous before God; for it says that no-one can be righteous
before God by the works of the law. And it also says that "all have
sinned". Even if you don't make a single mistake in your life
(which is not at all true regarding myself and I suspect not true for
you either) there is still Adam's mistake which passes down from
generation to generation. But praise God, another way has been provided
by which we can be righteous before Him and this way is called grace.
Yes, someone had to work for all these gifts to be made freely available
to us. However, this was neither you nor I but the Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 3 tell us about the accomplishments of Jesus Christ:
Romans 3:23-26
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are
justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus: whom God set forth2
to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his
righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the
forbearance of God; he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the
present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have
faith in Jesus."
(NIV-KJV)
The
redemption is IN CHRIST JESUS, not in what you and I achieved. This is
very important if we want to understand the relationship we have with
God. Our relationship is based upon the grace of God and the
accomplishments of Jesus Christ, NOT upon our worth, works or
achievements. We are righteous before God twenty four hours a day. The
reason is that this right standing was given to us by grace. It
was given to us as a result of the unmerited favour and love that God
has for us. It is "righteousness FROM God", NOT righteousness
from ourselves i.e. self righteousness. This "from" is used to
denote the source of this righteousness. This source is neither you nor
I but God. Galatians also tells us:
Galatians 2:16
"know that A MAN IS NOT JUSTIFIED BY THE WORKS OF THE LAW BUT BY
FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST. So we too have put our faith in Christ Jesus that
we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law:
for BY THE WORKS OF THE LAW NO-ONE WILL BE JUSTIFIED."
(KJV-NIV)
Once
more we see that it is not by works. If it was, I could say: "Look
I did more than you. I deserve it more than you." No-one deserved
something from God. It was God who, by His love, sacrificed His Son so
that by believing in him we are righteous and saved. That's really
grace! Amazing grace!
3. "He
became unto us"
A simple look to the
thoughts and ideas of many Christians suggests that the idea of
righteousness by works, i.e. self-righteousness, is very well rooted in
many Christian minds. However, the Scripture does not support this idea.
Indeed, what the Scripture points out is not our ability to achieve a
right standing before God but the sacrifice of Christ who achieved this
right standing for us. I Corinthians 1:30 tells us about Christ's
accomplishments on our behalf:
I Corinthians 1:30
"It is because of him (meaning God) that you are in Christ
Jesus....."
(NIV)
Once
more, we see that it is BECAUSE OF HIM, meaning God, that we are now in
Christ Jesus. It is not because of our worth or our abilities but
because of the grace, love and goodness of God that we are in Christ
Jesus. In the preceding verse (verse 29) it says "so that no-one
may boast before him" (meaning God). We will see in a minute in
whom we can boast.
I Corinthians 1:30
"It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who HAS BECOME
(BECAME in the Greek text) unto us wisdom from God and righteousness and
sanctification and redemption. Therefore as it is written "LET HIM
WHO BOASTS BOAST IN THE LORD"
(NIV-KJV)
Jesus
Christ became unto us all these things. HE BECAME (past tense). It does
not say that WE became unto him. HE became unto us. He became wisdom
from God and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Do you
know why we are righteous, redeemed and holy before God? Because Jesus
Christ BECAME unto us all these things. When did he become ? When you
believed. When you believed you were declared righteous, you were saved,
you were sanctified. I know, it would be very logical if God told us:
"Look, you will do this and that work and then you will be saved,
become righteous etc." Although there are many that teach exactly
that, God never taught it. What God teaches in His Word is that to
become righteous and saved you need to believe in Jesus Christ.
I remember many times when I ended
up having condemnation in my heart because I felt that I had to achieve
my right standing before God by works and I failed. It is impossible
to develop your fellowship with God if you do not know that you START as
righteous and saved. Once you realise this, then you can utilise these
rights to build your fellowship with God. If you have a good fellowship
with God then the works will come as the fruit of that fellowship. These
are not works that you have predetermined to do for God but works that
"GOD has prepared" (Ephesians 2:10) for you. It is how you
start. If you start doing good works in order to achieve a good position
before God then you have missed the mark. You will always end up with
condemnation because you are trying to achieve righteousness by works,
yet this is impossible. If you start by knowing that Jesus Christ became
unto you righteousness, redemption etc. and that all these were granted
to you as gifts (by GRACE), when you believed, then you can go ahead and
do the works that God has prepared for you. The works are not the
foundation, the mean for the fellowship with God, but the FRUIT of that
fellowship.
4. The
breastplate of righteousness
Further understanding of
the role of righteousness is given in Ephessians 6. There it speaks
about the armour of God that was given to us to fight the spiritual war:
Ephessians 6:13
"Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of
evil comes you may be able to withstand, and having done all to
stand"
(NIV-KJV)
I
would like to point out two things in this verse. First, the armour is
of GOD. It is NOT an armour that you constructed. Rather, it is an
armour that has been constructed by GOD. Second, it is YOU that put on
that armour. God will not put it on for you. God made it available. Now
you have to put it on. These two things have significance for correct
understanding of the next verse. There it states:
Ephesians 6:14
"Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around you waist, WITH
THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS IN PLACE....."
(NIV)
It
is this second piece of the armour on which we will concentrate our
attention today. This piece is the breastplate of righteousness. The
various parts of the armour, as they are described in verses 14-17, have
not been given a name through chance. God has a reason for everything He
says. Nothing was written "by chance" in His Word. So, we must
ask ourselves what is the job that a breastplate is designed to do? I
believe that most of us know the answer: in a suit of armour the
breastplate protects the breast. As you know, the heart, a vital
instrument for our lives, is located in the left side of the breast.
Therefore, one of the most important jobs of the breastplate is to
protect the heart. Biblically, the word heart means the inner part of
the mind; the inner being of a man. What there is in our heart
determines what we are. Romans 10 tells us:
Romans 10:9
"That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in
your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be
saved"
(NIV-KJV)
When
it says "in your heart" does not mean the literal heart, for
the literal heart cannot believe. Rather it means, the inner part of
your mind, the inner part of your being.
Also: Proverbs 3:23
"Above all else guard your heart; for out of it are the
issues of life"
(NIV-KJV)
The
Word of God calls us to guard our hearts more than anything else. Once
more, when it says heart the actual reference is to the inner part of
our minds. Indeed, what is in the inner part of our minds determines
"the issues of life". No wonder therefore, that it is exactly
this part at which Satan aims his darts. If his darts manage to pierce
the heart i.e. the inner part of our being, then this is exactly what he
wants. One of the weapons which Satan frequently uses to fire his darts
into the heart of sincere and devoted Christians is none other than
condemnation. Condemnation is one of his best weapons since it makes the
heart, the inner part of our beings, ill. It is a powerful weapon of
Satan to corrupt our fellowship with God. I John describes the effects
of this disease which affects many Christians.
I John 3:21
"Beloved, IF our hearts do not condemn us, we have
confidence before God"
(NIV-KJV)
Pay
careful attention to that "if". Note also that the reference
is to the heart. Condemnation is a serious disease that affects the
heart, the inner being of a man. When there is condemnation in our
hearts then there is no confidence before God and if there is no
confidence before God, then I really question of the fellowship that we
are able to have with God. The will of God is to "rejoice in the
Lord always" (Philipians 4:4). It is however impossible to rejoice
in Him when you do not have confidence before Him. Nevertheless, Satan
will not manage to bring condemnation into our lives IF (and only if) we
use the armour of God for our defence. So the question is what is the
piece of armour which God has provided us with to protect the heart?
Ephesians 6:14 tells us:
Ephesians 6:14
"Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around you waist, WITH
THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS IN PLACE....."
(NIV)
This
piece is the "breastplate of righteousness". But which
righteousness is this? You see, we are accustomed to reading this verse
using a preconceived idea of righteousness by works. Thus, we think that
the righteousness referred to in that verse is our self-righteousness.
We say "if I'm good enough and do good works then I'll be
righteous". However, we forget that the Bible says "therefore
NO-ONE will be declared righteous in his (God's) sight by the works of
the law". The righteousness here is not our self-righteousness but
the RIGHTEOUSNESS OF (or from) GOD. The full armour has been made ready
for us BY GOD. It is the "armour OF GOD". It is not an
armour that we constructed. The Word does not say "Make up the
armour". It says "PUT ON the FULL ARMOUR OF GOD".
If the armour is of God, whose then is the breastplate of that armour?
It is God's. Whose therefore is the righteousness that is the
breastplate? Is it your self-righteousness gained through your good
works? No! It is the righteousness of God, as indeed the whole armour is
of God, and so therefore is each separate piece. You didn't make up the
armour. You just put it on. In the case of righteousness this means that
you place deep in your mind that you are righteous before God BY GRACE
("righteousness from God") and thus you do not try to achieve
a self-righteousness standing before Him. You understand that before Him
"no-one will be justified by the works of the law" and that
"all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are
justified FREELY BY HIS GRACE". You must accept that grace is grace
and works are works. You must understand that when it says grace does
not mean grace with some works. As the Scripture says: "And if by
grace it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be
grace" (Romans 11:6). Then, you will have ":the breastplate of
righteousness IN PLACE". Otherwise, you will leave your heart
unprotected and be vulnerable to the disease of condemnation. Satan will
trap you by his "wiles" because you are not wearing the full
armour of God but something that you yourself made up. You have put on
the breastplate of self-righteousness instead of the breastplate
of righteousness of God. YET, the breastplate of
self-righteousness has been declared faulty by the Word of God. No
wonder therefore that if you put on that breastplate you will be
vulnerable to this Satan-caused disease. When we protect our hearts with
the true breastplate of the righteousness of God then that which the
Scripture says in Romans 8:1 will be fulfilled in our lives:
Romans 8:1
"THEREFORE THERE IS NOW NO CONDEMNATION FOR THOSE WHO ARE IN CHRIST
JESUS3"
(NIV)
Tassos Kioulachoglou
Footnotes
1. The Greek word that
is translated as "gospel" in the English Bibles is the word
"euaggelion" which means "good news" (press
here to return where you stopped).
2. The word translated
as "set forth" in the KJV could also be translated as "foreordained"(press
here to return where you stopped).
3. The latter part of
the verse that appears in the KJV is omitted by all critical Greek
texts(press here to return where you stopped).
PDF
version (printer friendly)
