What Is Grace?*

In the Church, there are those who greet each other saying, "Grace and Peace", as Paul also greeted the churches in his letters to them. The Hebrew sages approach scripture with the understanding that there are multiple facets to each verse by which men may learn the heart and will of God. Jesus also commanded us to "Search the scriptures...", so we will now look into the scriptures for the meaning and vital importance of grace. The Greek the word "grace", as used in the New Testament, is charis, which means: "that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, good will, loving-kindness, favor, the merciful kindness by which God, exerting His holy influence on souls, turns them to Christ and keeps, strengthens, and increases them in Christian faith...and kindles them to the exercise of Christian virtues". The word "peace" as mentioned above is the Greek word eirene meaning "security, safety, prosperity, felicity - of the Messiah's peace in Christianity: the tanquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and the blessed state of devout and upright men after death". Our peace comes from the assurance of our faith in Christ. For today's purpose, our discussion will focus on grace. In the Book of Ephesians, Paul begins his letter to this church with the salutation: "Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ." (Eph. 1:1-2). He wrote of all blessings in heavenly places that have been bestowed upon us in Christ. We were chosen in Him before the foundation of the world "that we should be holy and without blame before him in love." We were chosen by Christ for adoption to Himself. "To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved". (v. 3-6). It is through the riches of His grace that we have forgiveness of our sins, and redemption by His blood (v. 7). The purpose of His grace towards us is to accomplish a great reconciliation "that in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ...which are in heaven, and which are on earth..." (v. 10). Grace makes us accepted, and grace reconciles us, and all things, into Christ. We have obtained an inheritance of riches in glory by the power of that grace, given to us by the will of God (v. 11-18). This grace full of power and glory was "wrought in Christ when he raised him from then dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come..." (20-21). The grace of acceptance and inheritance is not accomplished by the will of man, but of God, through the overcoming of spiritual principalities by Christ's death and resurrection. As Paul wrote regarding the change in us: "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That...he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness towards us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Eph. 2:4-9). God has created us for good works, and has ordained that we should walk in those works (v. 10). This is not the kind "greasy grace" with which some believers excuse or justify their continuing walk in sin. The grace of God achieved through Christ on our behalf empowers a godly and righteous walk of works by the Spirit for which we were created and ordained by Him. This grace builds a citizenship with the saints, of the household of God, "...built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone." (Eph. 2:19-20). Grace is not confined to the New Testament, but, as Psul wrote, is encompassed within the Torah, the law and the prophets. The first mention of "grace" in scripture is from the Book of Genesis: "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God." (Gen. 6:8-9). We see here that grace was appointed to Noah, and as a result of the work of grace, he was a just and perfect man, and his walk was with God. This is also what Paul taught regarding grace, above. We saw the meaning of grace in the Greek language, but with these verses from Genesis, we can see the meaning of grace in Hebrew. The Hebrew word is han/hanan, meaning "grace, favor, pleasant, precious, acceptance, kindness, good-will, prayer, supplication/mercy, merciful, be inclined towards". In Exodus, God described His name and character to Moses as He descended from a cloud on the mountaintop, and stood with Moses: "And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and fourth generation." (Ex. 34:5-7). The LORD joined His mercy and grace together in these verses as He described His goodness, or hesed in Hebrew, meaning mercy, kindness, loving-kindness, beauty, favor). The message of grace hasn't changed from the Torah to the New Testament. The commandments of God are not limited to tablets of stone, but through the working of His grace, God wants His commandments to be written upon our hearts, and reflected in our walk. Notice that the LORD refers to "the guilty" in the above verses. The guilty are those who are unrepentant of their sin. Not only can grace not do its work in them because of that, but the iniquity of their sin passes to their future generations. The commandments of God are for our good, coming to us from His goodness. Paul wrote of this goodness of God found in His scriptures to his fellow worker in the Gospel, Timothy. The scriptures to which Paul referred would have been the Torah and the prophets, the Old Testament scriptures, because the New Testament had not yet been written: "And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. (2 Tim. 3:15-17). We can follow the presence of grace from the beginning of scripture as it leads to Christ's death and resurrection, and on through the New Testament as the gift of the favor and mercy of God in our salvation and inheritance as believers in Christ. *Based on Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson's 1/22/23 message to the church. To contact us, submit a prayer request, give a praise report, or to support this ministry: P.O. Box 154221, Waco, TX, 76705 OR Everlastingcovenant@ymail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, theshroudofturin.org, and END TIME SCHOOL, also on Facebook. You can also get a free ebook titled "The Shroud of Turin- A Perfect Summary" at www.The ShroudofTurin.org/freebook.

God and the Economy*

 

The pandemic and the resulting disruption of the economies of our nation and the other nations of the world is the situation in which we currently find ourselves.  However, the economy is more than what people consider it to be. The real economy is not a system of this world. God has much to say about His intentions for this worldly system and its attitude towards wealth, and what our thoughts should be towards it.

There is a strong warning in the Word towards those who boast, hoard and abuse with their wealth:

"Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire: ye have heaped treasure together for the last days."   James 5:1-3

The apostle James, who was the half-brother of Jesus, wrote above that the wealth of those who have hoarded riches for protection in these last days will be the testimony against them, and that wealth will prove to be no protection anyway. James went on to write that the same hoarders of wealth defraud and oppress those who labor for them. The Lord of the Sabbath, who is Christ, shall heal the cries of those who have been defrauded of their earned wages. In the recent past, we have seen lending institutions practice fraud in home mortgages, leading to the collapse of the housing market. We have seen in this pandemic, those who are lower on the economic scale have been placed in more danger than others. Large, wealthy corporations have defrauded the government of the funds that have been recently allocated to help small businesses and their employees through this difficult period. To the Godly, James urged patience until the day that the Lord comes, which day is near (v. 7-8).
The apostle Paul also warned the rich not to depend upon their riches, but with their trust being in God, rather to distribute those riches towards the good works that build a foundation for the difficult times ahead, and even into eternal life (1 Tim. 6:17-19).
The trusting in wealth, even the multitude of riches, cannot redeem oneself or any one else with God, because redemption is more precious than wealth, and is not corruptible or fleeting as material wealth is (Ps. 49:6-9). As we know, redemption was only bought by the blood of the Son of God. In fact, the man who is destroyed is the man who does not make God his strength, but trusts in those gathered riches (Ps. 52:5-7). The man-made economy, whether strong or weak, will not save anyone from the things that are happening now, or those that are to come. Even with money, it is difficult to buy things like toilet paper, as people have hoarded in fear. Food is disappearing from grocery shelves, even for those with money to pay, because it is destroyed by farmers who cannot get distributers to pick it up. God is asking us: Do we trust in the economy of man, manipulating it to get the greatest wealth from it, or do we trust in Him? It is God who is our salvation, our glory, the rock of our strength, and our refuge. Even when money abounds, we are still to trust in Him rather than riches (Ps. 62:7-10).
Comparing the economics of the righteous and the wicked the LORD said:
"A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous. The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied."  (Ps. 37:16-19)
Who are the righteous referred to above? Those who trust, delight and rest in the LORD (v. 1-7). From his own life experience, King David assured us:
"I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." (v. 25)
The trust we place in the LORD, rather than in wealth or in any worldly system, not only yields supernatural benefits to us, but continues to yield them to our children, and to their children. This is the investment worth seeking that cannot be found on Wall Street. The economy is not about men, corporations or stocks, but about Godly people, who will seek His face, repent, pray, and trust in Him rather than wealth.

*The above is based upon the 5/3/20 message to the Church from Dr. Kenneth Stevenson. 

To Contact/Submit prayer requests/Support the ministry/Order the book, "NAZAH-White Linen and the Blood of Sprinkling", and to help us get out the message, to contribute to the Book of Remembrance for Sean Stevenson:

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Prayer of Salvation for all who desire to receive Jesus as their Savior: Lord Jesus, I desire to know You, and to know Your salvation. I believe that You died for me, and that You were resurrected for me. Forgive me of my sins. Come into my heart, change me, fill me with Your righteousness. Inscribe my name in the Lamb's book of life. Baptize me in Your Holy Spirit, so that I can learn the truth of Your Word and ways, and be strengthened in my walk all the days of my life. You are the hope of my life, and You are my eternal life. I place my trust in You, Lord, for myself, and my whole household. Use me to do the will of the heavenly Father, Who sent You, in Whose name You came. In Your name, and in thanks and praise I pray, Amen.
 

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Sean Stevenson