Calvary Baptist Church

Calvary Baptist Church, Grenada, MS

Holding to the truths embraced by Baptist for centuries.

One of the greatest words in all of the English language is the word “grace”. The word “grace” is great because it expresses the greatest concept in all of history - the grace of God. Little can we comprehend the length and breath and height and depth of the grace and love of God as it is expressed in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Someone has written:

The source of this grace and love is God Himself. He is the God of all grace. He is the source of every grace we receive. Grace by its very nature is underserved and unmerited and cannot be earned. His grace is freely available to all who by faith under the power of the Holy Spirit believe and it is the basis of all the blessings we have in Christ Jesus. The Scriptures say “He giveth more grace” (James 4:6). What we need God is able to supply. The Scriptures speak of several types of grace such as:

First, there is saving grace. The Bible says “For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast” (Eph. 2:8,9). Salvation is all of grace. Man does not deserve it, neither can he earn it by good works. Grace is always absolutely free. Grace originates with God. He planned and provided salvation to those who are utterly unworthy of it. “God commendeth his love to us while we were yet sinners.” He justifies the ungodly. He does this on the basis of the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that God loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” The word propitiation speaks of a satisfaction. The holiness of God demanded that sin be punished and his law vindicated. The grace of God provided a substitute, God’s own dear Son, to die for us. This grace, this work of Christ, was all a part of God’s eternal purpose and plan. Our baptism, church membership, church attendance, observance of the Lord’s Supper, keeping the Ten Commandments, following the Sermon on the Mount, being a good neighbor, living a good moral life, walking an isle, or repeating a prayer will not save us. We stand before God as guilty sinners with vile, deceitful hearts, rebellious wills, and polluted minds. We are not subject to the law of God and neither indeed can we be (Romans 8:9b). We cannot save ourselves. Only the grace of God can save us and this He does through the gospel of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit.

This grace is a demonstration of “the exceeding riches of his grace in His kindness toward us”(Eph. 2:7). Only grace would have moved Christ to be wounded for our transgressions, to be made sin for us, so that God could make us new creatures and cloth us in the righteousness of His Son. Unable to save ourselves, without Christ, without hope, without God, (Eph. 2:14) it took a miracle of love and grace to save our souls and this miracle God provided out of the riches of his grace. “And you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1). This truly is “grace that is greater than all our sin.”

Second, there is serving grace. The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:9-10 “But by the grace of God I am what I am. And this grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain, I labored more abundantly than they all; yet not I but the grace of God which was with me.” Am I to labor to service Christ as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ? Am I to give the service of Christ my best effort? I most certainly am. However, Paul realized that it was grace which motivated and enabled him to serve effectively. Paul recognized for Christian service to be effective God must work in us the “will and to do”. This means I am to pray to God for guidance and strength, be in and open to his Word as I study it and fully realize that my Christian service is also dependent upon the grace of God.

Third, there is sanctifying grace. Romans 5:17 says “For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one, much more they who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in Jesus Christ.” This grace is reflected in the fact that we have been set apart to God and made new creatures in Christ. We no longer seek to serve Him to gain His favor, but we see to serve him because we love Him and already have his favor. Moreover, the fact that we can obey Him from the heart is an evidence of God’s grace at work in our lives (Rom. 6:17).

Fourth, there is sacrificing grace. Paul, wrote “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be made rich (2 Cor. 8:9). The grace that Christ exhibited toward us in His sacrifice for us is the motivating influence for our sacrifices. He who was enthroned in heaven left heaven’s glory and came to our poverty that He might lift us to heaven’s glory. Our sacrifices are small in relation to His great sacrifice. Yet, at their best our sacrifices are but a work of the grace of God in our lives.

Fifth, there is singing grace. The Scripture says “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms, in hymns, and spiritual songs singing with grace in your heart to the Lord” (Col. 3:16). Grace puts a song in our hearts as we live day by day which exalts and rejoices in the Lord Jesus Christ. Because of grace the believer cannot be satisfied with the world’s cheap substitutes which do not honor the Lord Jesus Christ. Rather, he rejoices in grand hymns which magnify his Savior and his grace and love which lifted him up out of the sinking sand, and set him on the solid rock of redemption; grace which is sufficient for his every need. He rejoices to sing such songs, as “There is Power in the Blood “,” To God Be the Glory, and “On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand”.

Sixth, there is speaking grace. Colossians 4:6 tells us to “Let your speech be always with grace seasoned with salt that you may know how to answer every man.” Grace causes us to remember that we are sinners saved by grace. We did not deserve it or merit it in anyway. Because we have been graced we can show grace to others in the things we say. Grace teaches us to say things with the right attitude and in the right way. Grace teaches us to seek to help people, not hurt them by the things we say.

Seventh, there is strengthening grace. Paul admonished young Timothy to “be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (2Tim. 2:1). Grace gives us strength to face the hard problems of life, to keep going in the face of difficult circumstances, to not give up when the task seems impossible. Paul understood this from personal experience when he wrote “I can do all things through Christ who strengthenth me”.

Finally, there is suffering grace. 1 Peter 5:10 says “But the God of all grace who has called unto His eternal glory by Jesus Christ, after you have suffered awhile make you perfect establish, strengthen, and settle you.” Peter says our sufferings prepare us for heaven and perfect our character. He also talks about the manifold grace of God (1Peter 4:10). The word manifold means many faceted or colored. For every kind of suffering there is a special kind of grace. God does not promise to always remove our suffering, but He does promise to give us His grace in that suffering (II Cor. 12:9). It is often here that we experience His great power in our lives.

This is the Grace of God that has provided every thing that we need. We are saved by grace, kept by grace, empowered by grace, and live by grace. It is all of grace from start to finish. John Newton stated it correctly when he wrote: