CHAPTER TWELVE
THE GRACE OF GOD
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. --- Eph 2:8-9
John Newton was born August 4, 1725. His godly mother taught him to pray as a child, but she died when John was only seven years old. John had just two years of schooling, and at the age of eleven his father, a sea-captain, took him to sea for the first time. John grew into a degenerate man, and he eventually became the captain of a slave-trade ship. He was forced into naval service, but then after attempting to desert he was put in irons and court-martialed. John Newton was flogged with 96 lashes and reduced to the rank of a common seaman. At his own request he was allowed to work for a slave trader, who then abused him. How can such a life be turned around?
Think of another degenerate man: Saul of Tarsus. His story is a little different than John Newton’s. Saul was highly educated and was about as religious as they come. He was a devout Pharisee; as to righteousness, under the law he was blameless. His zeal for his religion was seen in his persecution of the Way. You could even say that his life’s mission was to destroy Christianity, by sanctioning the stoning of Christians or having them thrown into prison. How can this type of life be transformed?
To bring this home, think of your own father or mother, brother or sister, son or daughter, or other loved ones, who don’t know Christ. Perhaps, they’re up to their neck in a vile, wicked lifestyle, or they’re strutting around in their self-righteous, legalistic religiosity. Regardless, what will it take to save such people from their depravity and the wrath of God, so we can witness their transference from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son—in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sin? It will take nothing less than the grace of God, the unmerited and undeserved favor of God.
While all Christians at least pay lip service to sola gratia—salvation by grace alone—I submit to you that most Christians don’t really believe it. We could state the differing opinions among Christians this way: All Christians agree that we are dependent upon God’s grace, but they disagree about the degree and depth of our dependence. I’m going to argue that we are totally, utterly, completely dependent upon God’s sovereign grace for our salvation. It is no wonder that John Newton’s “Amazing Grace” is the most well-known hymn ever. God’s irresistible grace that brings us to himself is without a doubt one of the most precious doctrines we hold. But we will not glory in God’s grace, we will not loudly and joyfully praise God for it, until we first understand our dire need for it. FREE WILL TO GO TO HELL
Some, possibly most, Christians believe that God in his grace must initiate salvation. However, they also believe that it is then up to the individual to exercise his or her own free will by repenting and putting their faith in Christ for salvation. Maybe you are even thinking, “Yes, that sounds about right; what’s the problem?” The problem is man’s free will. It’s ironic that free will is presented as the solution to men becoming Christians, when it’s actually a monumental hurdle that needs to be overcome. George Whitefield didn’t pull any punches when he told his friend John Wesley, “I know Christ is all in all. Man is nothing; he has a free will to go to hell, but none to go to heaven, till God worketh in him to will and to do His good pleasure.”
To help people understand “free will” I like to use a silly illustration: “Since Illinois winters are so unbearably cold, why don’t you exercise your free will, flap your arms and fly south?” Of course, they give me that dismissive “very funny” look. But I am trying to make a serious point: man’s will is only “free” to do what his nature allows him to do, which obviously includes some things and excludes others. Jesus addressed this whole issue of freedom with the Jews who had a pseudo-faith in him.
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”
Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (Jn. 8:31-36)
Jesus bluntly stated that apart from him man is a slave to sin, despite of all his vocal protesting to the contrary. All unbelievers do is sin, because they never do anything for God and his glory (Rom. 3:23). Let us carefully define “free will” to mean that man is free to do what he wants to do according to his nature—his sinful nature. And all he wants to do is sin. Therefore, man sins of his own free will, but he cannot flap his arms and fly south for the winter, or live a holy, God-honoring life.
Jesus continued his discussion with the Jews who were slaves to sin, and he let them have it with both barrels as he described their will.
Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.” (Jn. 8:42-45)
This is a powerful portrayal of man’s unregenerate will: it does the will of the devil, and it does not, and cannot, believe the truth. “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Rom. 8:7-8). Man’s “free will” is not the solution to his need for salvation; it is his problem.
The Bible uses another analogy to describe man’s condition outside of Christ. In addition to being a slave, he is also dead—spiritually. He has no spiritual life or inclination to please God. “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (Eph. 2:1-3). A dead man’s only hope of life is a resurrection, which is precisely what God provides. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (vv. 4-6). When Jesus called Lazarus to come forth from the grave, what part did Lazarus’ free will play in his resurrection? Zero! That is the image of our salvation: Jesus calling us to come forth from the spiritual grave.
Furthermore, the Bible explicitly states that salvation is according to God’s will and not man’s will. “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (Jn. 1:12-13). It is necessary to receive Christ and believe in his name for salvation, but the will that brings about new life resulting in believing and receiving is God’s will. Likewise, James 1:18 says, “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”
GOD’S GENERAL AND EFFECTUAL CALL
God effectually calls the elect to himself, otherwise they would never come. Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (Jn. 6:44; cf. v. 65). No one has the ability in and of himself to come to Christ unless the Father draws him. The word for “draw” could also be translated “drag,” as it is in reference to fishermen dragging their nets (see Jn. 21:6, CEV). John 6:44 could be translated “No one has the ability to come to me unless the Father who sent me drags him.” “Dragged into the kingdom” seems like a good way to describe the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, now better known as the apostle Paul (see Acts 9:3-6). Nobody reading his “Damascus Road experience” would conclude that he simply made a “choice” for Christ of his own free will.
Before we move on, we need to make a distinction between the general call and the effectual call. The general call is the universal invitation of God, whereby he calls all people to himself through the external preaching of the gospel. One example of the general call is found in Matthew 22:1-14. In this text, Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a wedding banquet prepared by a king for his son. The servants of the king were to encourage the invited guests to come by telling them they would enjoy a rich feast. What was the response to this generous invitation? “But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them” (vv. 5-6). The general call during the ministry of Christ was rejected for the most part, but this did not limit its scope. We too are exhorted, “Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find” (v. 9). We should invite anybody and everybody, “both bad and good” (v. 10).
This terse conclusion explains the parable: “For many are called, but few are chosen” (v. 14). Jesus makes a clear distinction between those who are generally called to salvation, and those who are specially or effectually chosen for salvation. The effectual call is the special invitation of God, whereby he calls his chosen ones to himself through the external preaching of the gospel, combined with the internal, illuminating work of the Holy Spirit, so that those who hear the message respond with genuine repentance, saving faith and joyful obedience.
In 1 Corinthians 1:23-24, Paul states that “we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” The general call, the gospel call, went out to all. To many Jews the message was a stumbling block, and to many Gentiles it was foolishness. But there was another group of Jews and Greeks that saw in the message God’s power and wisdom. What made the difference? They were among those whom God had called. This cannot be a reference to the general call, since all heard that call and many rejected it.
Romans 8:28 likewise refers to the effectual call. “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Who can claim this promise? Only those who love God and have been called according to his purpose. Anthony Hoekema observes,
Surely much more is meant here ... than having been summoned by the call of the gospel.... [C]an it be said that all things work together for good for all those who have been called by the gospel, regardless of whether they believe or not? Can it be said that all those who receive the gospel call are people who love God? Obviously not. It is quite clear, therefore, that ... those ‘who have been called’ refers to effectual calling.”
Next, reflect on Romans 8:30: “And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” In this verse we are given the ordo salutis (order of salvation). If you are called according to this call, it will be followed by justification and ultimately glorification. Therefore, it must refer to the effectual call, because not all who hear the general call are subsequently justified and glorified.
Further, consider 2 Peter 1:10: “Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure ....” “In this passage calling is not only mentioned in the same breath as election; it is treated as inseparably united with our election.” Thus, by making our effectual calling sure (general calling would make no sense), we are also making our election sure, and this is done, according to Peter, by adding to our faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge self-control, and so forth. (vv. 5-7).
It’s the effectual call of God, which can sometimes come with strong compulsion, that overcomes man’s rebellious will and transforms it, so that he desires to do God’s will for the first time. This was certainly how the former antitheist C. S. Lewis saw his own conversion.
You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalen, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England. I did not then see what is now the most shining and obvious thing; the Divine humility which will accept a convert even on such terms. The Prodigal Son at least walked home on his own feet. But who can duly adore that Love which will open the high gates to a prodigal who is brought in kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance of escape? The words compelle intrare, compel them to come in, have been so abused by wicked men that we shudder at them; but, properly understood, they plumb the depth of the Divine mercy. The hardness of God is kinder than the softness of men, and His compulsion is our liberation.
“His compulsion is our liberation.” I think the apostle Paul likewise would have seen that as an apt description of his own conversion.
REGENERATION RESULTS IN REPENTANCE AND FAITH
“When God gives us the grace of a new heart,” writes Douglas Wilson,
the first thing we do with it is to repent and believe. And this is why the Scriptures speak of repentance and belief as gifts—they are actions which we perform, but which require the prior gift of life. We are accustomed to hearing it said that people are to repent and believe, so that they might be born again. They are to repent and believe with their old heart, so that God will give them a new heart. But if the old heart is capable of repentance and faith, which
is all that God requires of us, then why do we need a new heart?
First John 5:1 says: “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God.” Note the order. Faith is the evidence that we have already been born again. Understanding this order is crucial, because it increases our appreciation for God’s grace. It clarifies that salvation is all of grace, that salvation belongs to the Lord (Jonah 2:9).
Moreover, it should be stressed that our repentance and faith are gifts of God. This is the extent of God’s grace that many Christians skate over. Yet, it’s essential to comprehend this if we are to praise God for his amazing grace. In Acts 5:31, Peter told the council, “God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.” We are used to saying that God is gracious and forgives our sins, but how about God being gracious and giving us repentance?
After the Gentiles received the Word of God, Peter reported this to the church at Jerusalem. “When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, ‘Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life’” (Acts 11:18). Repentance is graciously granted by God (see also 2 Tim. 2:24-25). The fact that repentance originates with God, and not man, is seen vividly in the life of Esau. “For you know that afterward, when [Esau] desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears” (Heb. 12:17). The interpretation of this verse is disputed, but the Greek is fairly clear: what Esau sought with tears was repentance, but God didn’t grant it to him. Perhaps, you’ve heard an unbeliever say, “I’m going to live however I want, but shortly before I die I’ll repent.” This is sheer presumption; the Scriptures don’t indicate that repentance is within our power to exercise at will whenever we like (Pro. 1:26-28).
Faith is also a gracious gift, which is why Luke speaks of “those who through grace had believed” (Acts 18:27). Without grace there is no believing. Philippians 1:29 is straightforward: “For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake.” Again: God grants belief (and suffering), so we must not deceive ourselves into thinking that we can believe whenever we jolly well feel like it.
Lastly, Ephesians 2:8-9 states that our being saved through faith is all the consequence of the gracious gift of God: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Paul is emphatic, sandwiching “it is the gift of God,” between “not your own doing” and “not a result of works.” All three phrases are intended to highlight God’s grace in salvation, which extends even to our faith. “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace” (Rom. 11:6).
Charles H. Spurgeon understood that when you trace your salvation all the way back to the beginning you realize that God and his grace are at the bottom of it all, and not your own decision or will. He explained when this doctrine of grace first opened up to him.
When I was coming to Christ, I thought I was doing it all myself, and though I sought the Lord earnestly, I had no idea the Lord was seeking me. I do not think the young convert is at first aware of this ….
One week-night, when I was sitting in the house of God .… The thought struck me, How did you come to be a Christian? I sought the Lord. But how did you come to seek the Lord? The truth flashed across my mind in a moment—I should not have sought Him unless there had been some previous influence in my mind to make me seek Him. I prayed, thought I, but then I asked myself, How came I to pray? I was induced to pray by reading the Scriptures. How came I to read the Scriptures? I did read them, but what led me to do so? Then, in a moment, I saw that God was at the bottom of it all, and that He was the Author of my faith, and so the whole doctrine of grace opened up to me, and from that doctrine I have not departed to this day.
The good news of salvation by grace through faith, apart from works, distinguishes Christianity from all the other religions of the world. Years ago, the Grand Rapids Press ran an article titled “Conversion to Hindu Faith Is Tortuous.” It stated, “A West German businessman has completed his conversion to the Hindu faith by piercing himself through the cheeks with a 1/4-inch thick, 4-foot-long steel rod, and pulling a chariot for 2 miles by ropes attached to his back and chest by steel hooks. Still others walk through 20-foot-long pits of fire, don shoes with soles made of nails, or hang in the air spread-eagle from hooks embedded in their backs.” What a contrast with: “For by grace you have been saved through faith.”
When a person puts their faith in Christ they are not only saved by grace, but they are also transformed by grace. This means it is impossible for an individual to live the same wicked and sinful life that they did prior to coming to Christ. Yes, “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (Rom. 5:20). But it doesn’t follow, contrary to the faulty reasoning of some, that we are “to continue in sin that grace may abound” (Rom. 6:1). Those who have been united with Christ “walk in newness of life” (v. 4). In Ephesians 2:10, after Paul outlines our salvation by grace, he says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” We are not saved by works, but we are saved unto works.
Grace is not passive, but something the Bible views as quite active in our lives. “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age” (Titus 2:11-12, NIV). The grace of God brings salvation and strength to reject ungodliness that we used to embrace. Salvation and sanctification are both the inevitable consequences of grace.
Grace, additionally, doesn’t permit us to be casual Christians. Paul told the Corinthians, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me” (1 Cor. 15:10). At first, it sounds like Paul is bragging—saying that he worked harder than all the other apostles (v. 9). He goes on, however, to clarify that it really was not him, but God’s grace that empowered him to work hard. Grace is not without effect, since grace is by its very nature active, transforming and energizing.
Generous giving is another result of transforming grace. Paul admonished the Corinthians to excel in the “grace of giving” (see 2 Cor. 8:3-7). To encourage them, he used the Macedonian churches as an example: “And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity…. [T]hey gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints” (2 Cor. 8:1-4, NIV). What inspires Christians living in poverty to urgently plead for the privilege to give “beyond their ability”? The grace of God. God’s grace in our lives doesn’t end with justification; it begins with justification and continues throughout our lives and on into eternity.
G-R-A-C-E AND GLORY
Many years ago, Phillips Brooks explained G-R-A-C-E as God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. We would be negligent if we did not mention that the free gift of eternal life cost the Father the life of his only begotten Son. We were redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. The grace that Christians enjoy is no cheap grace.
Why has God ordained that salvation be entirely by his grace? Why not a synergism of his grace plus our works? The apostle Paul provides the weightiest reason in Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Or, to state it positively: so that God, and God alone, would receive the glory. Ultimately, what is at stake in correctly ascertaining how dependent we are upon God’s grace is God’s glory. If salvation is all of grace, then God alone receives all the glory. Sola Deo Gloria is the motto of the redeemed, and they would not have it any other way.
So, how can degenerates like John Newton or Saul of Tarsus or you or me be transformed? The answer is God’s grace. And when his grace saves lost wretches such as us, we will worship like John Newton, who said,
It is certain that I am not what I ought to be. But, blessed be God, I am not what I once was. God has mercifully brought me up out of the deep miry clay and set my feet upon the Rock, Christ Jesus. He has saved my soul. And now it is my heart’s desire to extol and honour his matchless, free, sovereign and distinguishing grace, because ‘By the grace of God I am what I am.’ It is my heart’s great joy to ascribe my salvation entirely to the grace of God.
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