"Grace First"
John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, coined a term called “preventing” grace. A better term might be “prevenient” grace. It is the favor of God which must come first (pre) in the order of things before any human decision can possibly be made.
Remember from last week’s sermon we learned how humankind is incapable of turning to God on our own. Sin has “done a number on us.” God realized we were doomed unless He did something. And aren’t we glad He did!
God’s grace prevents any human being from claiming he or she can somehow earn salvation…or someone might be “good enough” to gain salvation…or someone is smart enough to understand deep truths and discover salvation on their own. This is the reason Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8-9 (NKJV):
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
No one can boast one iota about possessing the gift of salvation and eternal life because no one has done anything to earn it. It is a free gift offered by God to each of us at a time we were entirely powerless to help ourselves or possess any “goodness” in ourselves to seek God. This is the reason our praise and thanks should be continuous. Every day, every thought, every breath of life is a gift of God who has saved us without any help from us.
Take special notice of the words “through faith” in this verse. “Faith” is our response to God’s grace. Grace must come first. God must first shine His light on our dark souls. It is then left to our will or minds to decide whether to accept and receive the light or slink back into the shadows of sin and evil.
ACTS OF GRACE
Through countless ways God continually attempts to draw us back into fellowship with Him. We have discussed God’s creation quite extensively in this series. Each day when we step outside, He reminds us “Hel-lo! I am here!” Each time we feel a breeze on our cheeks or the warmth of the sun on our faces, God is saying, “Look around. Who do you think created all of this? I am here, and I want a relationship with you.” As we have stated several times, all of creation reveals the glory of the Creator.
Besides His wondrous creation “smacking us in the face” (in a good way…to wake us up) every day, He has carefully preserved the Holy Scriptures for thousands of years. God reveals Himself to us through the Word. Some of us have not opened the Bible in days or weeks. For others, it has been years. The enemy or “god of this world” (as I previously discussed) frantically attempts to prevent us from reading God’s Holy Word. He will kindly provide us with a zillion excuses.
God employs literally millions of resources in an attempt to draw us to His life and light through His love. The Holy Spirit is the “agent” who literally unlocks our souls/minds/hearts when any of God’s resources is used upon us. The Holy Spirit is in the middle of every attempt to break through our doubt and our sin to reveal God to us. The Spirit is moving upon our hearts and lives every day, every moment wooing us to our Creator.
Let me name just a few of the countless methods God uses to break through our darkened souls (besides the Scriptures and nature): a song on the radio, a memory, a physical ailment, a desperate situation, a friend’s text, a Facebook message, a photograph, a painting, a keepsake, a childhood Bible, a funeral, a wedding, an enemy, a book, a poem, a work of art, a testimony, a smile, a thought, a dream, Angels, frustration, in the midst of confusion, our conscience, a world event, our parents, our kids, a television program, a movie, a unique “coincidence,” a tragedy, a blessing, a walk in the woods, a vision, a desire, providence, a sermon, a sign, an animal, a miracle, a healing, a natural disaster, a website, a store clerk, a Nativity scene, fulfilled prophecy, communion, help from a total stranger, a sense of peace, conviction of sin, prayer, a mission trip, church family, co-worker, feelings, a letter, a YouTube video, a disappointment, and on and on and on. You might say there is not a moment (think about it…not one moment) of time that transpires in which God does not pursue us with His love.
And it is this constant, continual wooing with His unconditional love that finally demolishes the sin barrier of separation between us and opens our eyes to His salvation. You see how His grace MUST come first? Nearly every theologian throughout the centuries has agreed on this point. Without God’s initial acts of love and grace, our eyes would never see the light of day…unless He first shined HIS light in our darkness.
John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, coined a term called “preventing” grace. A better term might be “prevenient” grace. It is the favor of God which must come first (pre) in the order of things before any human decision can possibly be made.
Remember from last week’s sermon we learned how humankind is incapable of turning to God on our own. Sin has “done a number on us.” God realized we were doomed unless He did something. And aren’t we glad He did!
God’s grace prevents any human being from claiming he or she can somehow earn salvation…or someone might be “good enough” to gain salvation…or someone is smart enough to understand deep truths and discover salvation on their own. This is the reason Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8-9 (NKJV):
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
No one can boast one iota about possessing the gift of salvation and eternal life because no one has done anything to earn it. It is a free gift offered by God to each of us at a time we were entirely powerless to help ourselves or possess any “goodness” in ourselves to seek God. This is the reason our praise and thanks should be continuous. Every day, every thought, every breath of life is a gift of God who has saved us without any help from us.
Take special notice of the words “through faith” in this verse. “Faith” is our response to God’s grace. Grace must come first. God must first shine His light on our dark souls. It is then left to our will or minds to decide whether to accept and receive the light or slink back into the shadows of sin and evil.
ACTS OF GRACE
Through countless ways God continually attempts to draw us back into fellowship with Him. We have discussed God’s creation quite extensively in this series. Each day when we step outside, He reminds us “Hel-lo! I am here!” Each time we feel a breeze on our cheeks or the warmth of the sun on our faces, God is saying, “Look around. Who do you think created all of this? I am here, and I want a relationship with you.” As we have stated several times, all of creation reveals the glory of the Creator.
Besides His wondrous creation “smacking us in the face” (in a good way…to wake us up) every day, He has carefully preserved the Holy Scriptures for thousands of years. God reveals Himself to us through the Word. Some of us have not opened the Bible in days or weeks. For others, it has been years. The enemy or “god of this world” (as I previously discussed) frantically attempts to prevent us from reading God’s Holy Word. He will kindly provide us with a zillion excuses.
God employs literally millions of resources in an attempt to draw us to His life and light through His love. The Holy Spirit is the “agent” who literally unlocks our souls/minds/hearts when any of God’s resources is used upon us. The Holy Spirit is in the middle of every attempt to break through our doubt and our sin to reveal God to us. The Spirit is moving upon our hearts and lives every day, every moment wooing us to our Creator.
Let me name just a few of the countless methods God uses to break through our darkened souls (besides the Scriptures and nature): a song on the radio, a memory, a physical ailment, a desperate situation, a friend’s text, a Facebook message, a photograph, a painting, a keepsake, a childhood Bible, a funeral, a wedding, an enemy, a book, a poem, a work of art, a testimony, a smile, a thought, a dream, Angels, frustration, in the midst of confusion, our conscience, a world event, our parents, our kids, a television program, a movie, a unique “coincidence,” a tragedy, a blessing, a walk in the woods, a vision, a desire, providence, a sermon, a sign, an animal, a miracle, a healing, a natural disaster, a website, a store clerk, a Nativity scene, fulfilled prophecy, communion, help from a total stranger, a sense of peace, conviction of sin, prayer, a mission trip, church family, co-worker, feelings, a letter, a YouTube video, a disappointment, and on and on and on. You might say there is not a moment (think about it…not one moment) of time that transpires in which God does not pursue us with His love.
And it is this constant, continual wooing with His unconditional love that finally demolishes the sin barrier of separation between us and opens our eyes to His salvation. You see how His grace MUST come first? Nearly every theologian throughout the centuries has agreed on this point. Without God’s initial acts of love and grace, our eyes would never see the light of day…unless He first shined HIS light in our darkness.
