GRACE

No License for Sin

Introduction

The dictionary defines the word 'grace' as God's loving mercy toward mankind. Many Christians believe that divine grace is a New Testament provision which wasn't extended to the human race before the Saviour came to earth. They are mistaken. The fact is, the Almighty's grace has been available to sinners since the fall of Adam. Every time a repentant sinner presented him/herself before God, grace and mercy were freely extended to that person. The following texts, and there are more, show that grace was available in Old Testament times.

Grace for Noah
Genesis 6:	8: “But Noah found ‘grace’ in the eyes of the LORD.”
Grace for Lot
Genesis 19:	19: “Behold now, thy servant hath found ‘grace’ in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die:”
Grace for Moses
Exodus 33:	12: “And Moses said unto the LORD, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. 13:Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found ‘grace’ in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find ‘grace’ in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.”
Exodus 33:	16: “For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found ‘grace’ in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth. 17:And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found ‘grace’ in my sight, and I know thee by name.”
Exodus 34:	9: “And he said, If now I have found ‘grace’ in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.”
Grace for Gideon
Judges 6:	17: “And he said unto him, If now I have found ‘grace’ in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me.”
Grace for David
Psalm 84:	11: “For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give ‘grace’ and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.”
Proverbs 3:	34: “Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth ‘grace’ unto the lowly.”
Grace for the Exiles
Ezra 9:	8: “And now for a little space ‘grace’ hath been shewed from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage.”
Grace for Jerusalem
Zechariah 12:	10: “And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of ‘grace’ and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.”
Grace for ALL Israel
Jeremiah 31:	2: “Thus saith the LORD, The people which were left of the sword found ‘grace’ in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.”

God’s Channel of Grace is His Son Yeshua

The finer point which the New Testament writers make is that the grace of God, though present in former days, yea before the world began, was now channelled through the Saviour to all mankind. But it is still the grace of God and has existed as long as He has. The law was given through Moses; but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

2 Timothy 1:	9: “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and ‘grace,’ which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,”
John 1:	17: “For the law was given by Moses, but ‘grace’ and truth came by Jesus Christ.”
Titus 2:	11: “For the ‘grace’ of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,”
1 Corinthians 1:	4: “I thank my God always on your behalf, for the ‘grace’ of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;”
Ephesians 2:	7: “That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his ‘grace’ in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.”

P> In other words, the Apostles believed that any person of any race could find ‘grace’ in Yahweh's sight just as the ancients had.

Acts 15:

11: “But we believe that through the ‘grace’ of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they are.”

Justified by the Grace of God

No man is justified by obedience. We are justified by grace - through faith in the Son of God. Obedience, no matter how perfect it may be, does not - yea cannot - blot out past sins (acts of disobedience). Sin can only be punished or forgiven: it cannot be ignored. Most certainly it cannot be justified by the sinner's subsequent obedience. When a repentant sinnercomes to the Most High and confesses his/her sin, the Almighty forgives that sin: He extends grace to the sinner: but He does so at enormous expense. Sin must be punished and that is why His Son Jesus died on Mount Calvary. He died to pay the price of sin: because sin cannot be ignored. Having borne the punishment for sin, God is then able to offer mercy to the repentant sinner. This process of mercy and forgiveness is called grace. Failure to accept God's mercy will result in eternal death; for the unrepentant sinner will then be required to face the penalty of his/her own sin. To be justified means to stand before the Most High JUST-AS-IF-I'D never sinned. This is possible because of His love, mercy and grace which are channelled through His son. In other words, we are justified by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:	8: “For by ‘grace’ are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:”
Titus 3:	7: “That being justified by his ‘grace,’ we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

Grace / No License for Sin

It is, however, a grave error to suppose that having been forgiven or justified by grace through faith, that we may henceforth continue in sin - in disobedience. Indeed, those who are under grace should be victors over sin. They should live holy lives. Sin should have no dominion over them. The very idea of breaking God's commandments (sinning) should become abhorrent to them.

Romans 6:	1: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that ‘grace’ may abound? 2:God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” For further reading see: Yahweh's Law
Romans 6:	14: “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under ‘grace.’ 15: “What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under ‘grace’ God forbid.”
Hebrews 10:	29: “Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of ‘grace?”

In view of these facts, you should not be deceived into thinking that because you are under grace, obedience to the Ten Commandments, especially the Sabbath command, is unnecessary. If anything, your obedience should be all the more evident as time passes.