Abounding In Grace

Abounding In Grace

Steve W. Reeves

 

 INTRODUCTION:

A. In his book, Tell Me All About It, Jeffrey Zaslow tells the story of his father coaching a
    “Pee Wee” baseball team of seven through nine year old boys. One of the boys had a
    hard time understanding the fundamentals of the game. The team struggled all
    season and never won a game. Finally, during the last inning of the last game there
    was a ray of hope. With only one out left the team was behind by one run. On deck
    was their best hitter. Before him, however, was the young boy who struggled. He had
    never hit the ball and never made a catch. If, somehow, he could get on base there
    was a decent chance they could tie or even win. Remarkably the boy hit the ball for a
    single. He was grinning ear to ear. The next boy hit a pop up fly toward second base.
    The boy who was on first began running toward second but when he saw the ball in
    the air he stopped and caught it. His team lost. Everyone was devastated. The coach
    ran to the boy, picked him up, hugged him and said, “Great job – you hit the ball and
    caught it too.” One by one the other players came up to the boy and congratulated
    him. They had every reason to be angry but they displayed an abundance of grace.
B. There are four verses in the New Testament where the words “grace” and
    “abundance” appear together.
    1. In Romans 5:15 Paul wrote, “For if by the transgression of the one the many died,
        much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus
        Christ, abound to the many.”
    2. In Romans 5:20 we read, “But where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.”
    3. In 2 Corinthians 4:15 Paul wrote, “For all things are for your sakes, so that the
        grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks
        to abound to the glory of God.”
    4. In 2 Corinthians 9:8 the apostle Paul wrote, “And God is able to make all grace
        abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have
        an abundance for every good deed.”
C. God does not “skimp” when it comes to grace. He pours it out freely and lavishly
    upon us. Just as God’s grace abounds to us He expects us to abound in grace
    towards others.
    1. When Paul wrote 2 Corinthians he provided an example of Christians who
        abounded in grace towards others. These Christians resided in a region of
        northern Greece known as Macedonia.
    2. In Acts 16:9, when Paul, Silas and Timothy were at Troas, Paul had a vision of a
        man of Macedonia standing and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”
    3. Among the churches established by Paul in this region were Philippi and
        Thessalonica.
     4. In 2 Corinthians 8-9 Paul urged the Corinthians to abound in grace just as their
        countrymen to the north had abounded.
D. In our ongoing discussions on grace it would serve us well to ask, “What does it
    mean to “abound in grace?”
    
 I. WE APPRECIATE THE BLESSINGS WE HAVE RECEIVED  
    A. According to 2 Corinthians 4:15 Paul’s hope was that the “giving of thanks might
        abound to the glory of God.”
        1. Every person must make a choice.
       2. You will abound in appreciation or abound in adversity. You will abound in grace
            or you will abound in gloom and doom. You cannot do both.
    B. When Paul wrote to the Corinthians he asked for their help in meeting the needs of
        destitute Christians in Judea. In 1 Corinthians 16:2 he had instructed them, “On the
        first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may
        prosper, so that no collections be made when I come.”
        1. In 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 he continued his appeal but urging the Corinthians to
            follow the example of their countrymen in the north (Macedonia).
    B. Notice Paul’s use of the word “grace” in 2 Corinthians 8.  
        1. In verse 1 he wrote, “We want to make known to you the grace of God which
            has been made known to the churches of Macedonia.”    
        2. In verse 9 Paul reminded the Corinthians that they, too, have been recipients of
            God’s grace. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though He
            was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty
            might become rich.”
    C. The Macedonians were suffering.
        1. Their land had been ravaged by civil uprising and natural disasters.
        2. Their economy had been decimated to the point that they were exempt from
            paying Roman taxes.     
        3. In the midst of their suffering grace abounded in them. Verse 3 says, “That in a
            great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty
            overflowed in the wealth of their liberality.”
    D. They had so very little but they abounded in a grace filled attitude. Today, we have
        so very much but display very little grace towards others.
    E, Twenty years ago I spent several weeks preaching in Donetsk, Ukraine. One
        evening our mission group was invited into the home of an elderly woman for a
        meal. It was a small house. Obviously, she was very poor. We ate “borsch,” (broth
        with cabbage) and homemade bread. After the meal the woman went to a cabinet
        and removed a box of chocolates to serve. Her daughter, one of our interpreters,
        told us she had been saving that box of chocolates for years to serve at a special
        occasion. She was appreciative of what she had and abounding in grace.
   
 
  II. WE ADVANCE THE WELL BEING OF OTHERS
    A. In 2 Corinthians 8:3-5 Paul said, “For I testify that according to their ability, and
        beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, ⁴ begging us with much urging
        for the favor of participation in the support of the saints^{, 5} and this, not as we had
        expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.”
        1. Had they not abounded in grace it would have been easy for them to avoid
            helping others (“We are too poor).
         2. Have you noticed how, when we do not want to do something, we always find a
            reason for not doing it. That is not grace. Grace always looks for opportunities,
            not excuses.
    B. It is interesting to notice the trends of Americans regarding charitable gifts.
        A CNBC article in 2014 reveals insight.
        1. New York and California are two of our most prosperous states and yet both of
            them rank in the lower half of charitable giving.
        2. Utah led the list of greatest giving per capita followed by Mississippi, Alabama,
           Tennessee and Georgia. Arkansas was 9th on the list.
        3. It is not that the people of these states have a greater ability to give. They have
            a greater will to give.
 
III. WE AVOID THE WAYS OF THE WORLD
    A. Grace should affect everything we do.
        1. It affects our attitude. In 2 Corinthians 8:6 Paul wrote, “But just as you abound in
            everything, in faith and utterance and knowledge and in all earnestness and in
            the love we inspired in you, see that you abound in this gracious work also.”
        2. Grace affects the way we serve others.
            a. 1 Peter 4:10 – “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving
                one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”
            b. Do people see God’s grace in your actions?
        3. It affects our marriages and families. Do you try to extend to your spouse, your
            children, your siblings or your parents the grace that you long for God to extend
            to you?  Do you say, “They don’t deserve it?”  Do you?
        4. Grace affects our speech.
            a. Colossians 4:6 – “Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned
                with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.”
            b. It is not only what you say but what you text and write on social media. This
                past week the University of Arkansas Razorbacks were one out away from a
                National Championship in Baseball. On a fly ball three fielders
                miscommunicated and the ball dropped between them enabling the other
                team to score and go on to win the championship. Do you think anyone feels
               worse than those young men? I have read comments calling them all sorts
               of names. If sports are involved should we check our graciousness
                at the door as we yell, “Kill the umpire” or shout other derogatory comments?
 
IV. WE ATTAIN THE ATTITUDE OF CHRIST
    A. To abound in grace means that we seek to attain the attitude of Christ. 
        1. John said, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His
            glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John
            1:14).
        2. The Macedonians had this attitude. In verse 5 Paul wrote, “And this, not as we
            had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of
           God.”
        3. They “gave of themselves.” Doesn’t that sound like Jesus?
    B. Consider the grace Jesus extended to others. To the guests at the wedding feast
        in Cana – John 2. To the Samaritan woman – John 4. To the woman caught in
        adultery – John 8. To the blind man in the temple – John 9. To Lazarus and his
        sisters – John 11.
    C. Only when Jesus abounds in us can we abound in grace!

CONCLUSION:
A. What would you do if you saw someone drowning? Immediately you would throw
     a life preserver. You might even jump in the water to pull them to safety.
    Each day we encounter people drowning in the sea of life. Grace is the means by
    which we can rescue them.
B. In our lives and relationships may we make sure we are also “Abounding In
    Grace.”

Things Grace Cannot Do

The Pitfalls of Grace

Steve W. Reeves

 

INTRODUCTION:

A. The “Reader’s Digest” has been a staple in my home for decades. I fondly recall my
    Dad thumbing through each new issue as he read the humorous stories  interesting
    articles and unique features. One of our favorite sections is, “Enriching Your Word
    Power.” This vocabulary challenge is sometimes humbling and always enlightening.
    1. Speaking of vocabulary, it occurs to me that the word “grace” is frequently
        misunderstood.
    2. We should never assume that “grace” releases us from the responsibilities of faith,
        obedience, worship and work.
C. Perhaps our understanding of what grace “is,” would be enriched by understanding
    what grace does “not” do.    
 
I. IT DOES NOT NEGATE OBEDIENCE.
    A. Suppose you were taking a class in which a term paper was due. On the day
        before the due date the instructor announced they were going to give a one week
        grace period for papers to be turned in. Would the extension of grace mean that
        you didn’t have to do anything? Absolutely not!
        1. There are some people who would say since God’s grace has been extended to
            us and we are no longer under the Old Testament with its rules and ordinances
            that we have no responsibility.
        2. The technical term for this is, “antinomianism.”
        3. There are two extremes Christians should avoid. One is “legalism” which says
            that we earn salvation through the keeping of law. The opposite is
            “antinomianism” which says, since we’re under grace, we don’t have to do
            anything.
    B. Jesus emphasized the importance of obedience.
        1. There are three important references to this in the Sermon on the Mount.
            a. Matthew 7:13-14 - “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the
                way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through
                it. ¹⁴ For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and ther are
                few who find it.”
            b. Matthew 7:21-23 - “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the
                kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven
                will enter. ²² Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy
                in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform
                many miracles?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart
                from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’
            c. Matthew 7:24-27 - “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and
                acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the
                rock. ²⁵ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and
                slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on
                the rock. ²⁶ Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on
                them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand^{. 27} The rain
                fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that
                house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”
        2. In John 14:15 Jesus said, “If you love me you will keep my commandments.”
        3. John wrote, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love
            God and observe His commandments. ³ For this is the love of God, that we keep   
            His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome” (1Jn 5:2-3).
    C. Grace does not negate our need for faith. In fact, Paul says in Romans 5:1-2 that
        through Christ we have obtained access “by faith” into this grace in which we
        stand.
    D. Grace does not nullify repentance. Instead, it calls us to repentance. It does not
        negate our need to confess Christ (Romans 10:9-10). It inspires us to confess our
        faith in Christ. Grace does not negate the essentiality of baptism. When Paul wrote
        the beautiful explanation of baptism in Romans 6:3-5 he did so within the context
        of a discussion about grace. It is in baptism that the benefits of grace are imparted
        to us as we are raised to walk in newness of life.
    E. In every aspect of life (worship, marriage, family, ethics, morality) grace is not an
        excuse for God’s instruction but an incentive for keeping it.
 
II. IT DOES NOT GIVE US A LICENSE TO SIN
    A. Do you remember how excited you were to receive your driver’s license? It gave
        you a sense of freedom and independence you had never experienced.
        1. In Romans 5:20-21 Paul said, “The Law came in so that the transgression would
            increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, ²¹ so that, as
            sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal
           life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
        2. Paul anticipated that some would reason, since grace abounds all the moe
            where there is sin, let’s throw aside restraint and keep on sinning. Let’suse
            grace as a license to do what we want to do.
        3. hus he asks a rhetorical question in Romans 6;1,“What shall we say then? Are
            we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?”
        4. He answered the question in the next verse with the strongest negative answer
            he could give in the Greek language, “May it never be” or “God forbid!”  How
            shall we who died to sin still live in it?”
        5. A “momma” sheep was watching her little baby lamb one day. Nearby was a pig
            pen with pigs wallowing in the mud. The little lamb thought that looked like fun
            and asked his “momma” for permission. His mother simply said,”sheep don’t
            wallow. ”When mother lamb wasn’t looking the baby went over and started
            wallowing in the mud. Before long its wool became caked with mud and it was
            stuck. It began crying for help. Momma lamb came to the rescue, lifted it out of
            the mud, cleaned it up and said, “Remember, sheep don’t wallow.”
    B. Christian, you have been saved by the glorious grace of God Almighty! Why would
        you want to go back to the pig-pen of life?
        1. In Galatians 5:13 Paul wrote, “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do
            not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve
            one another.”
        2. Titus 2:11-12 – “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all
            men, 12 instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live
            sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age.”
        3. Jude said, “Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our
            common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend
            earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. ⁴ For
            certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand
            marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our
            God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ” (Jude
            1:3-4).
 
III. IT DOES NOT JUSTIFYY MEDIOCTIRY
    A. Perhaps you are thinking, “Since God’s grace has me covered I can just take it
        easy and let things slide.” Grace is no excuse for laziness or mediocttiry. It should
        inspire us to give our very best.
        1. When John wrote to the church at Laodicea in Revelation 3:14-22, He recorded
            the words of Jesus, “So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I
            will spit you out of My mouth” (Revelation 3:16). Laodicea was a thriving town
            that relied on its water being piped in from thermal springs to the north or cool
            springs to the south. In either case the water was “lukewarm” when it reached
            the city.
        2. Are we seeking to justify mediocrity in discipleship because we are under race?       
    B. On the contrary, grace should spur us on to greater service. In 1 Corinthians
        15:10 Paul wrote, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward
        me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the
        grace of God with me”
        1. Paul was so thankful for God’s grace that he gave God the best that he could.
        2. We do not honor God’s grace when we give Him the left-overs of life.
    C. In 2 Corinthians 9:8 Paul said, “And God is able to make all grace abound to you,
       so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for
        every good deed.” God has not skimped on us. Will we skimp on Him?
 
IV. IT DOES NOT COME CHEAPLY
    A. God’s grace is given to us freely but it is not cheap.
        1. Free and cheap have two very different meanings. Suppose someone gave you
            the gift of a Rolex watch. It is free to you but it is not cheap.
        2. God’s grace is offered freely to you. Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is
            death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” 
            Ephesians 2:8 says, “By grace are you saved through faith, and not of
            yourselves, it is the gift of God.”
        3. God’s grace is made available to us at the expense of His Son’s life. It took
            Jesus dying on the cross to make God’s grace available to you and me.
    B. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German theologian who was killed near the end of
        World War II. In his book, The Cost of Discipleship, he described what he called,
        “cheap grace.” “Cheap grace means the justification of sin without the justification

        of the sinner. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring

        repentance, baptism without discipline, grace without the cross, grace without

        Jesus Christ living in you.”

 

CONCLUSION:

A. God’s grace is a wonderful thing. It can save the greatest sinner. It can strengthen

    the weakest soul. It can brighten the darkest hour of life and can give rest to the
    troubled heart of humanity.
B. Always remember, however:
    1. It does not negate obedience.
    2. It is not a license for sin.
    3. It does not justify mediocrity.
    4. It does not come cheaply.
C. Receive His grace, today!