Disproportionate grace

An Australian ecclesia recently decided to "dissociate" itself from another ecclesia because they don't like the "disproportionate emphasis on the doctrine of grace" by the other ecclesia.

A "disproportionate emphasis on the doctrine of grace" sounds like an oxymoron to me. "Grace" is all about God's abundant, overflowing, overwhelming, infinite, disproportionate generosity!

Paul used the word "grace" about 80 times in his letters. John says “grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17) and “from the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another” (1:16). Luke said “all spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words [or words of grace] that came from his lips” (Luke 4:22). Paul said he taught "the gospel of grace" (Acts 20:24). Many of Jesus stories and parables emphasised the disproportionate nature of God's generosity. If we don't understand disproportionate grace we really don't understand the Gospel.

Members of the ecclesia concerned would no doubt benefit by reading some of the following helpful books:

Law and Grace by Christadelphian author W.F. Barling

Conviction and Conduct by Christadelphian author Islip Collyer

Legalism vs. Faith by Christadelphian author David Levin

The Grace Awakening by Charles Swindoll

What's So Amazing About Grace? by Philip Yancey

He's always there

I know that many Christadelphians struggle with depression, addiction and abuse, and there has been a disturbing increase in the numbers of suicides (especially youth suicide).

This video may help someone.

"Sincerity without truth cannot save"

In an earlier post I mentioned a sign that I've sometimes passed on a local Christadelphian hall which says: "Sincerity without truth cannot save". I said that I've been tempted to pin a note to their door saying "Truth without sincerity cannot save either. In fact, neither truth nor sincerity saves - we are saved by grace".

I received an email from a friend asking for some explanation of salvation by grace. He asked: "Is God's Grace unconditional, or it is conditional with ACCEPTING the Crucifixion of Christ (John 1:17b)? What should one DO to be saved by Grace?"

It's a good question. I thought my answer to that question is also relevant in the context of looking at the ethical teachings of Jesus, so I've reproduced it below.

I think one of the problems with the issue of grace and works is that many scholars (beginning with Martin Luther) have made it an either/or situation. Are we saved by grace OR by works? When we answer, according to the Scriptures, that salvation is by grace, then some people will argue that works have no value then. However, Paul does not set grace against works – rather, he sets grace (or faith) against “the works of the law”, which were those particular aspects of the Law which distinguished Jews from Gentiles and led to Israel’s nationalism and exclusiveness. In Romans, for example, Paul is not arguing against works, or the Law, but is arguing the case for the inclusion of the Gentiles. He argues that we are saved by faith, and that those features of the Jewish Law which made them a distinctive group have no relevance to Gentiles.

I say that as a way of background to answering your question, because some people have wrongly argued that “good works” have no value, on the basis of their misunderstanding of Paul’s argument against “the works of the Law”. In fact, Paul elsewhere commends good works (quite frequently in fact) and James says that faith is demonstrated through works. In Paul’s terminology there is a big difference between “works of the law” and “good works”, and good works are the sign and seal of our faith.

“Grace” literally means “a gift”. There is nothing we can do to deserve or earn it – otherwise it would be a payment for services performed, not a gift. So in this sense grace is unconditional. Your reference to John 1:17 is interesting. Just a few verses earlier (v. 12-13) John said this: “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God”.

John says some important things here.

(1) First he said we are to “receive Him”. Salvation is God’s gift (grace) but we have to receive it. If we do not receive it then we will never benefit from it. In this sense, we could say that grace is “conditional” on us receiving it. In other words, unless we do something to receive it (or accept it, to use your word) then it will have no effect on us.

(2) Secondly John says that if we receive Him He will give us the “right” (Gk. exousia = literally, the power of choice) to become the Sons of God. So it is dependant on us to make the choice to become a Son of God.

(3) But then John emphasises that our new birth is entirely the work of God - “born of God”.

In other words, what we do is to make the choice to accept everything God has on offer to enable us to live the new life - which is another way of saying we are to have “faith” or “trust” in God (faith and trust mean the same thing) to provide us with everything we need to live this new life. The new life, being born again, is the work of God. We cannot change ourselves through our own efforts.

But God, on the other hand, will not change us without our co-operation. This is why “grace” and “Spirit” are almost interchangeable in the New Testament, especially in Paul’s writings, because God’s grace is exercised through His Spirit. It is the Spirit which works in us and enables and empowers us to do God’s will and to live the Christian life. Then the Spirit working in us will produce “fruit” - which is the evidence that God is at work. Much of what we "do" (what both Paul and James would call “good works”) are not the results of our own efforts, but are the signs that God is at work in us, and God works in us because we “trust” Him to do it (“faith”). So we could say that for His grace to have an effect in our lives it is dependant on us having the faith/trust in Him to do it.

I hope this helps. I think the most important things for us to do are to:

(a) receive whatever God offers;
(b) choose to co-operate with Him; and
(c) submit to His authority (the “Lordship” of Jesus).

Then the works (or “fruit”) that are produced in our lives are really the works of God and God gets the glory.

One example of this in practice is baptism. Some people say that “baptism is essential to salvation”. In other words, being baptised is something we must do in order to be saved. I would put it differently: I would say that salvation is God’s free gift, and that a person who has received or accepted that salvation will then be baptised as the sign and seal of their new birth. Do you see the difference?

A religious spirit

GToday's message from J. Lee Grady (Charisma Online) is about the warning signs of toxic religion. Grady makes the point that "legalistic religion is poisonous" and provides eight characteristics of a religious spirit.

He says:

1. A religious spirit views God as a cold, harsh, distant taskmaster rather than an approachable, loving Father. When we base our relationship with God on our ability to perform spiritual duties, we deny the power of grace. God does not love us because we pray, read our Bibles, attend church or witness, yet millions of Christians think God is mad if they don’t perform these and other duties perfectly. As a result they struggle to find true intimacy with Jesus.

2. A religious spirit places emphasis on doing outward things to show others that God accepts him. We deceive ourselves into believing that we can win God’s approval through a religious dress code, certain spiritual disciplines, particular music styles or even doctrinal positions.

3. A religious spirit develops traditions and formulas to accomplish spiritual goals. We trust in our liturgies, denominational policies or man-made programs to obtain results that only God alone can give.

4. A religious spirit becomes joyless, cynical and hypercritical. This can turn a home or a church completely sour. Then, whenever genuine joy and love are expressed, this becomes a threat to those who have lost the simplicity of true faith.

5. A religious spirit becomes prideful and isolated, thinking that his righteousness is special and that he cannot associate with other believers who have different standards. Churches that allow these attitudes become elitist—and dangerously vulnerable to deception or cult-like practices.

6. A religious spirit develops a harsh, judgmental attitude toward sinners, yet those who ingest this poison typically struggle with sinful habits that they cannot admit to anyone else. Religious people rarely interact with nonbelievers because they don’t want their own superior morals to be tainted by them.

7. A religious spirit rejects progressive revelation and refuses to embrace change. This is why many churches become irrelevant to society. They become so focused on what God did 50 years ago that they become stuck in a time warp—and cannot move forward when the Holy Spirit begins to speak in new ways. When religious groups refuse to shift with God’s new directives, they become “old wineskins” and God must find more flexible vessels that are willing to implement His changes.

8. A religious spirit persecutes those who disagree with his self-righteous views and becomes angry whenever the message of grace threatens to undermine his religiosity. An angry religious person will use gossip and slander to assassinate other peoples’ character and may even use violence to prove his point. Jesus, in fact, warned His disciples: “There will even come a time when anyone who kills you will think he’s doing God a favor” (John 16:2, The Message).

Grady concludes with this appeal: "If the poison of religion has seeped into your life, ask Him today to pour a fresh understanding of His grace into your barren spirit".

“Many are called but few are chosen”

In response to my last post, where I said "remnant theology is wrong", some people will undoubtedly reply "but Jesus' said 'Many are called but few are chosen'."

Indeed, in two places in Matthew’s Gospel we read of Jesus saying these words (Matthew 20:16; 22:14). This saying appears to be contrary to the idea of God’s overflowing generosity which we see repeatedly throughout Jesus’ teachings. It appears that Jesus is saying that only a small number of people are actually chosen by God to enjoy His Kingdom and that even many of those who respond to His invitation will be rejected. This is so radically different from the rest of Jesus’ teachings that we need to look at this saying carefully in its context.

In actual fact Jesus is only recorded as saying these words on one occasion. While the King James Version (KJV) also places them at Matthew 20:16, most translations do not include it here. It seems that the KJV is based on a manuscript which incorrectly included the saying here, as the best and most ancient manuscripts omit it.

So we need to look at the one place where Jesus used these words: at the end of the parable about the wedding feast (Matthew 22:14).

This is quite different to another parable about a wedding recorded in Luke 14:16-24 so we shouldn’t confuse the two. A dominant theme in Matthew’s Gospel is the inclusion of the Gentiles in the people of God because of Israel’s rejection of Jesus as the Messiah. This is highlighted in the words “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit” (Matthew 21:43). It is this message which is being emphasized in this parable.

The parable is in two parts. In the first part (verses 1-10) the people who are invited to the wedding ignore the invitation so the invitation is extended to anyone the king’s servants can find – good or bad – so the wedding hall is filled with guests. The message here is clearly a reference to Israel’s rejection of their Messiah, and therefore His kingdom, and the invitation going to the Gentiles instead.

The second part of the story (vv. 11-14) has a very unexpected twist. The king notices one guest without an appropriate wedding garment, and has him bound and thrown outside. There are two unusual features of this twist.

(1) It seems strange that someone who was invited at very short notice would be criticized for not dressing appropriately; and

(2) the consequences seem overly harsh in the circumstances.

However, this is no ordinary wedding: it is the King’s son! It would have been a great honour to have been invited and it seems that everyone else had time to dress appropriately. So the harsh treatment of the one person who didn’t take the honour seriously may not have been overly harsh after all (although we must remember that Jesus often used exaggeration for emphasis).

The story ends then with the punchline: "For many are invited, but few are chosen” (verse 14). If many people were thrown out of the wedding hall and only a few allowed to remain then this saying would clearly refer to those who remained for the banquet. However, in the story many stay for the banquet and only one is rejected. If this saying referred to the fact that one person was “not chosen” because he wasn’t properly dressed then it would have been more accurate to say “many are invited and most are chosen, but a few will be rejected”. Obviously Jesus has something else in mind.

A parable usually has one main point, or two at the most. The closing line, the “punch line” (also called the “end-stress”), relates to this main point. In this story the main point is that the people who were originally invited to the wedding banquet rejected this invitation and therefore others were invited in their place. The final line takes us back to this point. Many people make the mistake of interpreting this line to mean “many are called (from the world), but few are chosen (from those who are called)”. This interpretation has no connection to the context.

The “many” who are called, or invited, refers to the second group to be invited. The story makes it clear that a large number were included in this second invitation. “'Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.' So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.” On the other hand the first group appears to be relatively small: “one to his field, another to his business”. So the saying is better interpreted “many are called (from the world) but few are chosen (from the world)” and there is a contrast between being called and being chosen (there is possibly even a play on words in the Greek, where the word “called” or ‘invited” is kletos and the word chosen is eklektos).

The word “chosen” (Greek eklektos) has the meaning of being “picked out”. It is a great honour to be “chosen” or “hand-picked”. In this story the ones who were “hand-picked” to be at the wedding banquet were those who were initially invited. From all the people in his realm the king chose these people to celebrate with him on this special occasion. But they treated this honour with contempt, and so they too were rejected.

The person in the second part of the story had a similar attitude. Although he came to the wedding he did not take the honour seriously of being invited to such a special occasion. He was very casual in his attitude, and in this way was similar to those earlier who casually chose to carry on with their business rather than answer the king’s summons.

We could paraphrase it this way: “It is a great privilege to be invited, and many have been invited; but it is an even greater honour to be hand-picked, and only a few have that honour – so don’t take it lightly.”

This story emphasizes the great honour which is offered to us when God invites us to the celebration in the kingdom of His Son. Israel suffered severely because they rejected that honour, and those who come into the church “casually” without considering what an enormous honour it is will also be treated severely. While we are saved by grace we must never take grace lightly. We have been given a wonderful privilege.

But it can't be for everyone!

In my previous post I said there were two main movements which developed early on in the first century of the Christian church:

1. Exclusivism
2. Gnosticism

I commented on Gnosticism - the belief that salvation was obtained by understanding certain truths which were hidden from those with a superficial knowledge. A modern counterpart to Gnosticism is that we are saved by having "correct doctrine" and that only those people who believe "the truth" as it is defined by the particular group will be saved. Some Christadelphians come perilously close to being Gnostics in this sense.

The main heresy which Paul resisted was Exclusivism. We encounter this movement in Paul's writings whenever he dealt with the problem of "the Judaisers". While many people think of Paul's writings to be dealing with legalism versus grace, the problem with the Judaisers was not so much one of legalistic observance of law as it was of exclusivism. Several New Testament scholars over recent years have contributed a great deal in this area, including E.P. Sanders, James D.G. Dunn, N.T. Wright, and others. They have shown that Paul's argument with the Judaisers was not about Christian grace versus Jewish legalism but was rather about the status of Gentiles in the church. It was a controversy about whether Gentiles should be accepted into the new covenant people of God as Gentiles or whether they should first convert to Judaism and become Jews. Christianity, after all, was a Jewish religion.

Now, whether or not these new perspectives in contemporary New Testament scholarship on Paul's theology are totally correct, they certainly highlight what was a very real concern of Paul's.* Some members of the church were refusing to acknowledge other converts as genuine believers and required that they do "something more" in order to be accepted. The same doctrine exists today amongst those Christians who refuse to acknowledge other believers as genuine unless they adopt the beliefs and practices of their group or denomination. In it's denominational form it manifests as the view that "only Christadelphians/Jehovah's Witnesses/non-Trinitarians/Trinitarians can be saved". I've seen it go further amongst Christadelphians with the declaration that only members of certain Christadelphian fellowships can be saved! This attitude has produced what we could call "remnant theology" i.e. the view that only "a remnant" will be saved and that most believers are really deluded and only a handful really know "the Truth" which is essential to salvation. (I've actually heard of one Christadelphian fellowship who, when their numbers had dwindled to only 8 people, claimed that they would be the only 8 to be saved "just like Noah's ark"!)

But remnant theology is wrong. God's offer of salvation is inclusive, not exclusive. He is generous with his grace and offers life and life in abundance. Jesus' parables are often about the generosity of God and the lengths to which He will go to secure the salvation of a sinner. In The Revelation John sees a vision of the saved: "a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language" (7:9). This is hardly remnant theology.

* For a good summary of whether the issue was exclusivism or legalism in Paul's writings see this article by Mark M. Mattison.

Foundation 2: We are saved by grace

In theory Christadelphians believe we are saved by grace, but in practice there is an emphasis on "working out our salvation" through attendance at meetings and Bible Schools, doing the daily Bible readings, and, perhaps more importantly, having "correct doctrine". Someone who errs from the accepted "first principles", even in a minor detail, is at risk of being disciplined at least and disfellowshipped at worst. The details are so important that Christadelphians in North America have been divided for 100 years over whether to use the Birmingham Statement of Faith, or the Birmingham amended Statement of Faith as their basis of fellowship. Most Christadelphians on both sides of the divide would believe almost exactly the same about the "fundamentals" but they cross their "t"s and dot their "i"s differently and so refuse to break bread with each other.

In Australia there have been disfellowships of whole ecclesias (and groups of ecclesias) over doctrinal differences which are too complex for the average Christadelphian to understand. This is the result of placing enormous importance on getting "essential doctrines" exactly right. Getting it right is a "work", and Christadelphians generally believe that you cannot be saved if you get the fundamental doctrines wrong. Taken to its logical conclusion, to many Christadelphians "right doctrine" is more important than "right behaviour" - so we have the absurdity where prominent teachers who are guilty of child abuse, adultery, and unChristian behaviour have been allowed to remain in fellowship while people who are found to have divergent views even on minor matters have been expelled from their ecclesia.

Consequently when Christadelphians discover the truth that we are really saved by grace it is usually a life-changing revelation. God saves us because He loves us, not because we have "correct doctrine". It is the Father's pleasure to give us the Kingdom (Luke 12:32). We don't earn salvation through understanding doctrines. We don't merit any favours because we have a better intellectual grasp of "the Truth" than others. God gives salvation to whoever He pleases. It is a gift - a totally undeserved, unmerited gift.

Once we grasp this truth a huge burden is lifted from our shoulders. We are free to "grow in grace and knowledge" (2 Peter 3:18), to change our ideas as God reveals new things to us. We don't have to struggle alone to be "acceptable" to God - instead He empowers and enables us by His grace to keep us from falling and to present us before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy (Jude 24).

That's why the good news of the Kingdom is the same as the Gospel of Grace - it is by His grace that He gives us the kingdom, not by our own efforts or correct understanding or right doctrine.

Jesus' Gospel of Grace (2)

Jesus taught constantly about grace, even in stories and sayings where He did not even use the word! This is why it was said He was "full of grace and truth" and His teachings were "words of grace" and why the doctrine of grace became so important to the church and why it features so prominently in Paul’s writings.

For example, the parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16) tells of an employer who hires some workers early in the day, some later, and some an hour before quitting time, then pays each of them the same amount. When the workers who worked all day complain, the employer's explanation is: “Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?' "So the last will be first, and the first will be last." (Matt. 20:15-16). God’s standard of reward is totally different from human standards of payment – it is entirely a matter of grace. The labourer who puts in a full day received a denarius, which was a usual day’s wages – this is what they deserved. But those who were sent into the field at the end of the day and worked only one hour received the same wages as those who had worked all day. By human standards a day’s work deserves a day’s pay. But by God’s standards those who worked for one hour also received a day’s pay. Human standards are based on merit and reward. God’s standard is grace.

The well known parable of the Lost Son (Luke15:11-32) has a similar message. A son demands the family fortune and wastes it, then returns home expecting little in the way of good treatment. The father welcomes him handsomely, over the objections of his other son who stayed at home and served dutifully. The older dutiful son got what he deserved. The younger son got what he didn’t deserve. By human standards the older son should have been rewarded for his loyalty and service. But by God’s standards the younger wayward son was accepted because his father loved him. This is grace.

We can see a common thread in these parables of Jesus: the grace of God is something that upsets human ideas about merit, about what is deserved, and what is due as a reward.

In fact, we see in some of Jesus’ sayings and stories that the rewards are out of all proportion to the service which was rendered. Matthew records some examples of this:

- “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.” (Matthew 19:29)

- “"Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.” (Matthew 24:47)

- “"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'” (Matthew 25:21,23)

This is the way it is with God.

- First, even our opportunities for service are a gift from God (Matt 25:14ff);

- then we are rewarded when we have only done our duty;

- finally we are rewarded out of all proportion to what we have done, even when we don’t reserve to be rewarded at all.

Such is God’s grace.

It is impossible to earn God’s favour. The story of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14) makes the point that not even religious observances can make us deserving of God’s rewards. In the story the tax collector, in a class of people despised and often associated with “sinners”, is “justified before God” while the Pharisee who prayed, fasted and gave money to God’s temple comes in for criticism. Yet elsewhere we are taught to pray, encouraged to give to the poor, and told that fasting is valuable. This parable focuses our attention on the motivation for religious observances. If we are being “religious” in order to earn merit with God then our efforts are useless. However, if our observances are the grateful responses of someone who has been saved as a result of God’s undeserved favour, then they will not go unrewarded.

Jesus' Gospel of Grace

John says “the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17) and “from the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another” (1:16). Luke said “all spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words [or words of grace] that came from his lips” (Luke 4:22).

However, Jesus Himself rarely used the word charis ("grace"). In the two instances where He did He taught something profoundly important about grace. His teachings were about doing good to others when there is no possibility that they can repay us – doing good to others without expecting to be rewarded for it. Showing grace to others in this way is our response to the grace God has shown us. We cannot earn salvation by good works. We cannot do anything for God which would ever repay what He has done for us. Salvation is God’s gift. So we are to be imitators of God by being gracious (or grace-givers) to others – behaving towards them in a way which imitates (on a small scale) the grace of God to us.

In fact, in Jesus' teachings about the Kingdom He was mainly teaching about grace.

For example, Matthew groups several parables together in a collection of stories beginning with the words “the kingdom of heaven is like …” (Matthew 13). An interesting thing about these parables is that none of them speak specifically about the kingdom as our reward or of a kingdom in the way we might think of one: as a nation or country. In fact, they don’t seem to be speaking about a future kingdom at all, but describing how the kingdom is preached, how it begins, and the characteristics of the people who respond to the kingdom-message, the citizens of the kingdom. In fact, Jesus says almost nothing about the future kingdom after His second coming.

Christadelphianism generally has put the emphasis of the kingdom almost entirely on the future - the final consummation - and ignored almost completely Jesus' teachings about the present reality of the kingdom. In this way Christadelphianism is a "half-gospel" and not a complete picture.

The Gospel in the Letters (2)

The Gospel of the Kingdom in Romans

It might seem strange that in the letter which has been described as “the Gospel according to Paul” – the letter to the Romans – there is no mention at all of the kingdom. Did Paul change his message? This is hardly possible, especially since we read in Acts that while in Rome he “boldly and without hindrance preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Acts 28:31). We get a very specific statement from Paul himself about this. While speaking to the elders of the church in Ephesus he said that “the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus” was “to testify to the gospel of the grace of God”. And then in the next verse he says "I have gone preaching the kingdom of God” (Acts 20:24-25). So to Paul “the gospel of grace” was the same as the gospel of the kingdom. In Romans he teaches about grace, using the word at least twenty times, although never using the word “kingdom”.

The message here is clear: the Kingdom of God is a gift. We cannot earn it. We do not work for it. It is not a reward for services rendered. It is a gift. It is so important that we understand this that Paul writes his “Gospel” – the letter to the Romans – to spell this out clearly.


The Gospel of the Kingdom in Hebrews

The writer to the Hebrews says “since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe” (Heb 12:28). Elsewhere in his letter he refers to “the city of God” (11:10, 16; 12:22), “the city that is to come” (13:14), “the heavenly Jerusalem” (12:22) and our “homeland” (11:14). The letter emphasizes that we are on a pilgrimage toward this kingdom, or homeland. While the references are predominantly future he does say “you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God” (12:22) in the context of saying that we have come to God and to Jesus (vv. 23-24). So while our hope of the kingdom is future, there is also a sense in which it is also “now”.

The writer to the Hebrews also refers to "the age to come" in an interesting "now, but not yet" way. “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance” (Hebrews 6:4-6). The "now" kingdom reality is a "taste" of the "not yet" final consummation in the age to come. The writer again emphasises that the kingdom is a heavenly gift, highlighting again that the Gospel of the kingdom is the Gospel of grace.

Abounding Grace

In 2 Cor 9:8 Paul writes:

"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work."

The Bible gives us the promise that God will provide everything we need for the Christian life. Many Christadelphians think of life as a struggle as we struggle against sin and our own fallen human nature. There is an emphasis on Romans 7 and Paul's description of his internal struggle which he experienced before he came to know the freedom from sin in Christ (which he describes in chapter 8). In fact, in some Christadelphian meetings much is made about the Romans 7 struggle and the Romans 8 victory is glossed over, or sometimes even ignored (I remember hearing about a Bible study in Adelaide on Romans which was in two parts: part 1 was Romans 1-7, and part 2 was Romans 9-16. Chapter 8 was left out entirely!)

But God promises victory over sin and the weaknesses of human nature:

- "To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy - to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen." (Jude 24-25)

- "I can do everything through him who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:13)

- "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death." (Romans 8:1-2)

- "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith." (Eph 3:16-17)

Here is one of my favourites. Notice how Paul emphasises the enormous power that is available to us by using almost every possible synonym for "power" or "strength":

- "I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms" (Eph 1:18-20).

The Amplified Bible uses these words in v. 19 "the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power". Paul is not simply saying that God is powerful: he is telling us that we can experience this power through His grace which abounds in us!

Life does not need to be a struggle against ourselves when we become Christians. We do not need to work for our salvation and overcome sin and temptation alone. God promises to give us every spiritual resource that we need in order to live a life of victory and fullness. I was not taught this when I became a Christadelphian, and I did not hear about this for many years. When I discovered this truth my life changed.

I learned that life is not a probation for the Kingdom. We are not here to be tested so that God can decide at the Judgment Seat whether or not we are "acceptable". Jesus said "it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32). God wants to give us the kingdom as a gift! That's grace! God wants you and me in His kingdom and will do absolutely everything He can - He will "exert" Himself and use His mighty strength - to make sure we enter it with exceeding joy.

Grace in Acts

The Greek word charis is used 155 times in the New Testament, mostly in Paul's letters (100 X) , and is usually translated "grace".

The NIV Theological Dictionary of New Testament Words makes the following comment about grace in Acts:

In Acts charis describes the power that flows from God and the exalted Christ and accompanies the activity of the apostles, giving success to their mission (6:8; 11:23; 14:26; 15:40; 18:27).

To Luke, the writer of Acts, grace was an active force which enabled the preaching of the Gospel.

Grace to help

Have you ever wished that you understood more about "grace" and why evangelical Christians make such a fuss about it?

Have you ever wondered why a Christadelphian book was published against Philip Yancey's What's so amazing about Grace? and why Yancey's book was condemned in some Christadelphian circles? Did you realise that in the latest version of The Christadelphian Hymn Book (the one with the green cover) some of the references to grace were deliberately removed? Do you wonder why?

The thing is, grace is one of the most important concepts in Paul's writings. In Acts 20:24 he said "the task the Lord Jesus has given me" was "testifying to the gospel of God's grace". It's almost impossible to understand the New Testament without understanding grace, yet the subject receives little attention in most Christadelphian ecclesias.

At best most Christadelphians understand grace as something like "forgiveness". We will be accepted at the Judgment Seat "by the grace of God" to most Christadelphians means we will be accepted if we do our best to live by the commandments of Christ and then God forgives us for our shortcomings. In fact, the only reference to grace in the BASF has exactly this meaning. However, Hebrews 4:16 makes it clear that grace is quite different to forgiveness.

"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."

"Mercy" here includes the idea of forgiveness. When we fail God shows mercy - He forgives. But grace is something active - grace helps us in our time of need. Grace can't possibly mean forgiveness in this context. Mercy is passive but grace is active - grace helps.

So what is grace? And how does it help?

I'll post some more about this soon. In the meantime you might want to look in a concordance and start reading what the Bible says about grace.