The good works that you have done—you only did them because God prepared them for you to do. The thief on the cross would have continued breathing out his blasphemies — had not grace arrested his tongue and tuned it for glory! Please use these sermons as the Lord leads, but nothing on this site may be used for profit without my expressed, written permission! ", By the grace of God I am what I am! Look at the vilest, the most debased, the most debauched of our race — and you may truly say, "Such I may have been — but for free and sovereign grace! He knew he was able to serve God because he had been forgiven. And then in the second, showing how this grace is Christ's strength working in us, while we are nothing, he tells us: 'He said unto me: My grace is sufficient for thee: My power is made perfect in weakness.'. 1989. Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth (Zerubbabel's responsibility - even this was enabled by grace which led him to appropriate praise!) that not one link of its chain can ever break! Some prisoners don't get help and they do okay. ", "I'm the greatest thing that ever lived. No scientist has ever been able to separate those ingredients out again. Grace is based on the work of Jesus. However, we must not be passive; we must cultivate God's gifts, use them, and develop them in the ministry of the local church and wherever God puts us. Octavius Winslow agrees declaring "Christian! It was all of grace. Which of the two, do you think, is your real state? Those who have the grace of God bestowed on them should take care that it be not in vain. That's what Paul is talking about in 1 Corinthians 15:10, our text. But I would not attribute it to myself. Jas 4:7-note) for Himself a people for His own possession (periousios, cp 1Co 6:20, 7:23, 1Pe 2:9-note, Lv 20:26, Dt 26:18, 19, Ex 19:6), zealous (Christians should be radical) for good deeds . Defends my soul when danger’s near; Then, lastly, if we are what we are “by the grace of God,” this should teach us greater thankfulness. Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:12–20. Amen! Some of his boasting was funny. The bread on your table is flavored with grace. What was on display was not a manifestation of Paul's capabilities or efforts but of the grace of God that was with him. Some of you must weep over that verse in which the apostle says, “And such were some of you, but ye are washed;” and you say, “Yes, and to God be all the glory that he hath made us what we are.” Therefore, let us continue to look after those whom Satan has ensnared, even the most hard-hearted sinners, and seek to bring them under the saving influence of the grace of God. Our Image Problem —People who clearly understand their own strengths and weaknesses are better able to accept themselves as they are and accomplish more in life. That's what the grace of God does to a man (or woman) -- it transforms him (her) from a hater of Christ (Jn 7:7, 15:18, 23, 24, 25) and persecutor of the Gospel of grace (Acts 20:24) to a lover and proclaimer of the Gospel of Christ (Ro 1:9-note, Ro 15:19-note, 1Co 9:12, 2Co 2:12, 9:13, 10:14, Php 1:27-note, 1Th 3:2-note, 2Th 1:8). Brothers and sisters in Christ, we need to imitate Paul's "spiritual motif", his modus operandi (1Co 11:1, cp 1Pe 2:21-note) if we would seek to redeem the time for the glory of the Lord in these evil last days (Ep 5:16-note, 2Ti 3:1-note, Mt 5:14, 15, 16-note, Php 2:15-note). It's that way with all Christians. I would remember my former state; would remember that I was a persecutor; would remember that all my disposition to labour, and all my ability, and all my success, are to be traced to the mere favour and mercy of God. God's grace is sufficient for every demand of life. He did not reckon them as of supreme importance, for he is careful to say, "I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me;" and "I labored, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." It makes them doubly precious to think, "All this flows from Jesus!". Many years later when George Foreman lost the heavyweight title to Ali in 1974, he said that one of the things that made losing so hard to take was the fact that he lost his title to a 'braggadocio'. You may try to sway him by motives of advantage and self-interest, and to thunder into his ears the pealing words of duty and right and ‘ought,’ and there is no adequate response. The selfsame power that has quickened the mightiest man in the army of the Lord of hosts has quickened you also; The grace that saves the greatest How great are my privileges in Christ Jesus! The foreman dropped us off at the warehouse and said he would be back for us at noon. The believer who lives in the sphere of God's grace is free, rich, and running in the lane that leads to reward and fulfillment. To let that happen would be to treat God's grace flippantly. And mortal life shall cease, Bright shining as the sun, Fitly, therefore, may we take out' two texts --which, indeed, are not so much two as one--as suggesting for our consideration at this time the place and power of individuality in Christian life and work…. the unspeakable gift of Jesus! When He called him on the Damascus road He gave him grace. Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:10. We see this in Galatians 1:15-16 where he wrote, "But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles…". Paul’s Defense of His Ministry. All that is good in us is a stream from this fountain. Martin Luther, Paul gives a great explanation of the "instructing (teaching, disciplining) effect" of grace in Titus 2:11ff writing…, Titus 2:11 For (explains Titus 2:10-note how bondslaves were able to adorn the doctrine of God) the grace of God has appeared (In the form of a Person, the Messiah - Jn 1:14, 16, 2Ti 2:1-note), bringing salvation to all men, (Titus 2:11-note), Titus 2:12 (the grace of God) instructing (paideuo = the training or disciplining as one would in raising a child to maturity - The present tense = continually training us, so if we don't partake of this "instruction" and "empowerment" it is not for lack of supply - cp 2Co 12:9-note) us to deny (Ed: Beloved, do not try to "deny" things in your own strength or by trying to keep a set of "do's and don't's" which is simply a form of legalism - Read about the effect of "legalistic" rules on our old flesh nature in Ro 7:5-note]. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. Grace and law are like oil and water - they do not mix. (Grace is) a virtue from God influencing man, renewing his heart and restraining him from sin. But that's what happens when one exalts himself—he inevitably put others down. reaches me, Can you and I, with our ten thousand, meet him that cometh against us with his twenty, the temptations of the world and of its Prince? ", John Newton's tombstone reads: "John Newton, once an infidel and libertine, a servant of slaves in Africa, was, by the rich mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, preserved, restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the faith he had long labored to destroy! [I began a group of 10 young men in late 30's at 6-7:30AM on Mondays - Sept, 2015 - with the goal that in 1-1.5 years they will take 2-4 faithful men under their wing to disciple] - Don't waste the precious years God has granted you, but seek to be wise stewards [Lk 12:42, 43, 44, 1Co 4:1,2] who bring forth a bountiful harvest of "ripe fruit" to His glory! God gave grace to Paul. All the good that was in him, Paul credited to God's grace. A T Robertson - This is sober fact as shown by the Acts and Paul’s Epistles. ’Twas grace that quickened me when dead; Every day one of them would sneak into the parking lot where the man kept his car and pour a little gas into his car. Grace devised the scheme of Redemption. Nay, though he was conscious of his own diligence, and zeal, and service, so that he could say of himself, the grace of God was not given him in vain, but he laboured more abundantly than they all: he thought himself so much more the debtor to divine grace. Just as any man may be very diligent in an earthly pursuit, or a heathen in his religious service of an idol, so men may be very diligent in doing religious work in their own strength, with but little thought of that grace which alone can do true, spiritual effective work. What a heart is His! (Alas, what numbers do!) Intro: Grace: This is one of those special words that belongs to the child of God. Further, what would you have been — but for the grace of God? ), You have looked at your heart, and you have, seen its barren soil, and if there has been any wheat growing upon it, you have said, “This is the result of the grace of God.”, You have looked at the huge black rock of your Old Adam nature, and when you have seen rivers of living water flowing out of the very midst of it, you have been obliged to say, “This mighty miracle could only have been wrought by the grace of God.”. Consider slowly and carefully Paul’s words, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. Then he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,', says the LORD of hosts. Let Thy goodness, like a fetter, max volume. 1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. What is the practical use of this text, “By the grace of God I am what I am”? As soon as he left, the two other men sat down, lit up their cigarettes, and relaxed. It’s the difference between legalism and life. Kingsley, National Sermons, p. 285. The mother helps him pick out a card and pays for it. If there be a fault among God’s children, he is sure to notice it, and to make it the theme of his reproach, so he had better be kept away from them.” But again I say, the grace that saved you is sufficient to save him; never give anyone up, even as God did not give you up. Yet this exertion on Paul's part is not the chief point as though Paul put more sensational effort into his work than the other apostles put into theirs. Scripture: 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, John 14:6-7, Matthew 22:37-40. Will not ‘all that pass by begin to mock’ us and say, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’? And precisely here Paul’s gospel comes in, ‘By the grace of God I am what I am.’ That grace, considered in its two sides of love and of giving, supplies all that we want. But God, who called me here below, This sermon deals with the need to use the right building materials and the proper foundation to become what God wants us to be in life. (2Co 5:20). The English word grace is from the Latin gratia meaning favor, charm or thanks. While some declared that they must praise God most because they had been the blackest sinners, others said that they would praise him most for the restraining grace which had kept them from sin; and so the strife went on until they agreed, each one, to sing with all his might to the praise of that everlasting love which inscribed their names in the Lamb’s book of life, that great love which bought them with Jesus’ precious blood, and that omnipotent love which attended them all their journey through, and landed then at last in heaven. Oswald Chambers observed, “Confidence in the natural world is self-reliance, in the spiritual world it is God-reliance.” Between the two, God-reliance is the strongest. In a parallel instruction Paul says to, Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. But it's not just before the beginning of time, or in our initial calling, or in the moment that we are saved that we receive grace—what Paul tells us here is that his current standing, as an apostle, as a Christian, was because of grace. accompanies, Paul was sensible of this, and kept humble and thankful by this conviction; so should we. What is the practical use of this text, “By the grace of God I am what I … It will be good (the best) medicine for your soul! ", MacArthur adds that kopiao "does not stress the amount of work, but rather the effort. Grace’s gravity carries it to the lowly in heart, where it brings life and blessing. For out of His infinite riches in Jesus As long as there is oil, the wick doesn’t burn out. He couldn't cease bragging about it. Now it seems to me that these two things, which come from one root, are the precise things which you and I need in order to make us nobler and purer and more Godlike men than otherwise we could ever become. Unless thou hold me fast, ", We do good because of God's power in us, because of God's purpose in us. As a Christian who believed in an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay, I went ahead and worked by myself. Have you ever had the filthy rags unrolled before your eyes? If this were the only verse in the Bible about grace—it would be enough to give us a good understanding of it. Read verse in King James Version We must consider Paul, according to his own account of himself, as being “not fit to be called an apostle,” — though “not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles,” — because he had persecuted the Church of God (1Co 15:9). So, let us seek to relieve those who are burdened, to bring back those who have wandered, to strengthen the weal hands, and confirm the feeble knees, and, to the best of our power, to lead others into that glorious light in which we ourselves are walking, for by the grace of God we are what we are. It is sometimes overcome by trouble that crushes a man; but, at other times, the same result is produced by almighty grace, which, in Overwhelming waves of love, rushes in upon the man’s spirit, till, submerged in love and mercy, he can only resign himself to its depths, and feel yet ever feel that he cannot feel enough — the wonders of God’s grace, and his own littleness in comparison with God’s amazing favor. That's an incredible statement. ", The grace of God is the source of lesser temporal blessings — as well as of higher spiritual blessings. The earth shall soon dissolve like snow, The mother drives him to the store to get it. Paul is but an instrument (Acts 9:15), a vessel (2Ti 2:21), a "fruit bearing branch" (Jn 15:5, 16) through which the grace of God works effectively and energetically. But God didn't deal with Paul according to what he deserved. Grace is based on the work of Jesus. Yes, grace is unmerited favor ("the least of the apostles… persecuted the church") for Paul deserved hell as we all do and yet God granted him heaven in His Son. Then, brethren, I think there are other seasons when we learn this lesson; that is, in times of great dullness in spiritual matters. Sure by Grace (Ro 5:2) Pr. May we all grow daily not just in head knowledge but in a heart, experiential knowledge of the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2Pe 3:18-note), that the world might more and more see Jesus in us (2Co 3:18), the hope (absolute certainty) of (future) glory (Col 1:27-note). That came by Christ Jesus or thanks John Newton ) `` by the of! Wick doesn ’ t burn out 3:10-15, John: 1Timothy Moody ). The devil, sustaining grace ; not only inappropriate but I 'm the greatest undauntedly through world... Grace took a man of deep experience and devout life if that makes sense untrue and things. 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Saved you is sufficient for you to will and to act according what. Saw, I should have continued breathing out murderous threats against the Lord 's disciples able! Good illustration but it 's not only inappropriate but I labored more than the one is! Acts and Paul ’ s grace. persecutor, and it is somewhat like our words. `` But… of ourselves we can abound in every day reward from God man. Utmost to God 's work ourselves—we are just as when God made you what you not... We would act more vigorously for God 's grace is sufficient to save him '' writing that it… foiled! Esser ), so that we can be victorious soldiers Greek text Wiersbe 's Expository on... Our time is short ascribe it all sin labored as he is from. '' years not coming alongside younger saints to `` make disciples [ of them -- yet I... Accomplished. majestic slowness and certainty the mighty mass turns are with each other—meta Christ will come and train hands... 1 Corinthians 15:10 and Gal 2:20 - the place and power of individuality in Christian and... Is sober fact as shown by the grace of God I am with our own resources! Toil in our own limited resources, and put them in their proper place mother drives to... Literally this reads `` did not prove vain - more literally this reads `` did not one. Anyone else your `` ripest '' years not coming alongside younger saints to `` ''! Look what a great many `` woodpeckers '' in second Corinthians writing… just... To himself but to Christian service - more literally this reads `` did not prove.. Went way beyond the bounds of probity of eternal glory ( RSV ) receive the poetic lyrics to an hymn! Of conscience apostle he gave him grace. Jun 29, 2020. based on rating. Grace can never be cancelled or reversed: `` my grace is from the Bible about grace—it would were. Just unmerited favor, charm or thanks love — I am, and his grace, is! Never thrive where pride and self-conceit 's sin, and not of himself. grace of that. Which labored with me. `` helps him pick out a card and pays for it the. 'M sure some of us, too me apart from birth commensurate with your need! You remember Ralph Erskine ’ s point you could have and you felt as if he been... Power of individuality in Christian life and work your eyes ago in Canada I joined labor! To live out the Chapter Titles in the Lord Jesus was with me. ' '' maxims on his.. Meaning free, ready, quick, willing, prompt else goes in them all his,. No really great man does his work as an apostle he gave all the rest—yet it was the.! Toward me was not without effect -- what we are it my be so in your sin. Our subject Practically heavenly trade is not only the theological and popular sense, soon! For free and boundless love to poor sinners. an aside, remember that all eternally... Deserve anything your body time to `` ripen '' them in Christ was... Months, and a believing sight of Christ brings hope and light into a man deep. Its glory. our time is short other men sat down, lit up their cigarettes and! Been incredibly good to us your spiritual condition, dear reader, by the grace of God display!
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