READING • PHILIPPIANS 3
Grace is God’s generous favour towards people who cannot earn salvation
The gospel does not teach that we can make ourselves righteous enough to deserve eternal life. Salvation begins with God: with his love, mercy and gracious purpose in the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace is therefore not an excuse to continue in sin; it calls us to a thankful life of faith, repentance and obedience.
Looking back over the course
As we come towards the end of this Bible Course, it is helpful to look back. We have considered the gospel of the Kingdom of God, the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, sin and death, resurrection, judgement, baptism and the practical life of a disciple. The decision to follow Jesus is not a small addition to an otherwise unchanged life. It is a new direction.
Jesus told people to think seriously before becoming his disciples. He compared discipleship with a builder calculating whether he can finish a tower and a king considering the strength required for battle. The point is not that we must first prove ourselves strong enough. It is that following Christ requires deliberate commitment.
“For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?”
Luke 14:28 • King James Version
Jesus continued by saying that a disciple must be willing to put loyalty to him above every competing claim. Christianity is therefore not simply agreeing with a set of teachings. It is choosing whom we will follow.
The burden Jesus offers to lift
Some people hesitate because they feel that they could never live well enough to become disciples. The Bible certainly sets a high standard, but the answer is not to wait until we are perfect. Jesus invites burdened people to come to him and learn from him.
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28 • King James Version
“For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:30 • King James Version
Disciples still experience temptation, weakness, grief and failure. Baptism does not guarantee that a person will immediately feel peaceful or that every difficulty will disappear. What changes is the disciple’s relationship with God: sins can be forgiven, life has a new purpose, and there is a sure hope beyond the problems of the present.
“The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”
Hebrews 13:6 • King James Version
What is grace?
The word “grace” is often explained as undeserved favour. That is a useful starting point. God does good for us that we could never demand as a right or earn as wages. The Bible connects grace with God’s mercy, forgiveness, calling and the gift of salvation through Christ.
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:”
Ephesians 2:8 • King James Version
“Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
Ephesians 2:9 • King James Version
These words remove human boasting. We cannot put God in our debt by accumulating enough good deeds. At the same time, Paul does not teach that conduct is unimportant. The very next verse says that believers are created in Christ Jesus “unto good works”. Grace saves; and the person who receives grace is called to live differently.
Grace and obedience are not enemies
We do not obey God in order to purchase salvation. We obey because God has called us, forgiven us and given us hope. The grateful response to grace is a life that increasingly reflects the teaching of Christ.
Noah found grace
The first occurrence of the word “grace” in the King James Version is in the account of Noah. The world around him had become deeply corrupt, yet the record says:
“But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.”
Genesis 6:8 • King James Version
The older version of this lesson suggested that the expression “found grace” means that Noah had to search for grace. The verse itself does not say that. Its point is that Noah received God’s favour. The following verse describes him as a just man who walked with God, and the rest of the account shows his obedient faith.
Noah therefore gives us a useful balance. God’s gracious favour comes from God, while Noah responds to what God tells him. Hebrews 11:7 later describes his building of the ark as an act of faith.
Grace and truth in the Lord Jesus
John’s Gospel directs our attention to the Lord Jesus Christ as the one through whom God’s saving purpose is revealed most clearly.
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, ... full of grace and truth.”
John 1:14 (excerpt) • King James Version
We learn about this grace through the Scriptures. Jesus told his hearers that the Scriptures testified about him. Reading the Bible is therefore not an end in itself: it should lead us to understand God’s purpose in Christ and to respond to it.
“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”
John 5:39 • King James Version
Saul of Tarsus: a life transformed by grace
Saul of Tarsus provides a striking example. He had actively persecuted disciples of Jesus and had tried to destroy the ecclesia. Acts 9 records how the risen Jesus confronted him on the road to Damascus. Saul was blinded and was led into the city, where a disciple named Ananias was sent to him.
Ananias knew Saul’s reputation and was understandably afraid, but he obeyed the Lord’s command. When he entered the house he addressed the former persecutor with the remarkable words “Brother Saul”. He then explained why he had been sent.
“Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.”
Acts 9:17 (excerpt) • King James Version
“And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.”
Acts 9:18 • King James Version
The name Ananias is related to the idea that God is gracious, but Scripture itself does not tell us to build an interpretation on the meaning of his name. The important point is clear without speculation: the man who had persecuted believers was shown mercy, was taught, regained his sight and responded in baptism.
Grace does not depend on a perfect past
Paul never forgot what he had once done. Yet he did not conclude that his past made forgiveness impossible. In another letter he described himself as one who had persecuted the ecclesia, but then said, “by the grace of God I am what I am” (1 Corinthians 15:10).
This is encouraging for anyone who believes that earlier sins have put salvation beyond reach. The gospel calls people to repent, believe and begin a new life. Grace does not pretend that sin does not matter. It provides the way by which sinners can be forgiven and transformed.
“My grace is sufficient for thee”
Later in his life Paul experienced what he called “a thorn in the flesh”. The Bible does not identify it precisely, so we should not confidently describe it as a particular illness. Paul tells us that he asked the Lord three times for it to depart from him. The answer was not the removal he wanted.
“My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”
2 Corinthians 12:9 (excerpt) • King James Version
Grace therefore does not mean that God removes every difficulty. Sometimes his purpose is worked out while weakness remains. Paul learned that he could continue because the strength supplied by Christ was greater than his own inadequacy.
Grace is sufficient even when circumstances do not change
A disciple may pray for a problem to be removed and still have to live with it. Paul’s example teaches us that unanswered prayer does not mean that God has abandoned us. His grace can sustain us through what remains.
Paul’s changed values
Philippians 3, the reading for this lesson, shows how completely Paul’s priorities had changed. He once had reasons to take pride in status and achievement within Judaism. After coming to know Christ, those things no longer formed the foundation of his confidence.
“Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord:”
Philippians 3:8 (excerpt) • King James Version
“And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ,”
Philippians 3:9 (excerpt) • King James Version
Paul did not become inactive. Few people in the New Testament worked harder in preaching, travelling, serving and suffering for the gospel. But he no longer regarded his own record as the basis on which he could claim righteousness. His confidence was in what God had provided in Christ.
Grace teaches us how to live
One of the most important corrections to make about grace is that it never means “God forgives me, therefore my behaviour does not matter”. Paul tells Titus that grace itself teaches disciples to reject ungodliness and to live in a disciplined, righteous and godly way while waiting for the fulfilment of their hope.
“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,”
Titus 2:11 • King James Version
“Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;”
Titus 2:12 • King James Version
GRACE GIVES...
GRACE CALLS FOR...
Forgiveness
Repentance and a determination not to return willingly to sin.
A new relationship with God
Prayer, worship and trust in him.
Hope of eternal life
Patient faithfulness while we wait for Christ.
A place among God’s people
Love, forgiveness and service towards others.
Freedom from boasting
Humility: recognising that salvation is God’s gift.
Strength in weakness
Dependence on God rather than confidence in ourselves.
Grace should make us gracious
Receiving grace should affect the way we speak and behave towards other people. Paul told the Colossians:
“Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”
Colossians 4:6 • King James Version
A disciple who knows how much he or she needs forgiveness should be slow to become proud, harsh or unforgiving. We still have to distinguish truth from error and right from wrong, but we can do so with patience, kindness and humility.
Grace, faith, baptism and works
Lessons 57 and 58 belong closely together. Faith trusts what God has promised. Grace reminds us that salvation is God’s gift rather than a human achievement. Baptism is the obedient response commanded in the gospel, marking the beginning of a new life in Christ. Good works then belong to that new life, not as a price paid for salvation, but as the fruit of faith and gratitude.
TERM
ITS PLACE IN THE GOSPEL
Grace
God’s favour and saving provision, which we cannot earn.
Faith
Trust in God and in what he has revealed through Christ.
Repentance
Turning away from sin and towards God.
Baptism
The commanded response of faith by which a believer enters a new life in Christ.
Good works
The changed conduct that should grow from faith, gratitude and discipleship.
Hope
Confidence in resurrection, the return of Christ and the Kingdom of God.
When a disciple fails
The fact that salvation is by grace is especially important when we fail. Baptised disciples are not suddenly incapable of sin. The New Testament was written to real ecclesias containing people who needed correction, forgiveness and encouragement. The answer to failure is not indifference and it is not despair. It is confession, repentance and renewed effort.
Grace gives us no reason to be careless about sin, but it gives every reason not to give up when we sincerely turn back to God.
What have we learned?
1. Following the Lord Jesus is a deliberate commitment, but Jesus calls burdened people to come to him rather than waiting until they are perfect.
2. Grace can be understood as God’s undeserved favour: salvation is his gift and cannot be earned as wages.
3. Ephesians 2:8-9 removes human boasting, while verse 10 shows that good works still belong to the life God intends for believers.
4. Genesis 6:8 says that Noah “found grace”; the verse does not mean that he searched for grace, but that he received God’s favour.
5. The Scriptures direct us to the Lord Jesus Christ, through whom God’s grace and saving purpose are revealed.
6. Saul of Tarsus was shown mercy despite his persecution of the ecclesia and responded by being baptised.
7. Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” is not identified in Scripture; the important lesson is that the Lord’s grace was sufficient while the weakness remained.
8. Philippians 3 shows that Paul stopped relying on his own status and righteousness and placed his confidence in Christ.
9. Titus 2 teaches that grace is active: it teaches disciples to reject ungodliness and live soberly, righteously and godly.
10. Grace, faith, repentance, baptism, good works and hope fit together within the gospel without allowing us to boast that we have earned salvation.
Passages to read
Genesis 6:5-9 • Matthew 11:28-30 • Luke 14:25-33 • John 1:14-17 • John 5:39-40 • Acts 9:1-22 • Romans 5:1-11 • Romans 6:1-14 • 1 Corinthians 15:9-10 • 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 • Ephesians 2:1-10 • Philippians 3:4-14 • Titus 2:11-14 • Colossians 4:5-6
VERSE TO LEARN • EPHESIANS 2:8
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:”
CHRISTADELPHIAN BIBLE MISSION • 5
CHRISTADELPHIAN BIBLE MISSION • 5