(This is the fifth article in a series. You can find the first four articles
here: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
Part 4).
We’ve seen in our study of Philippians that much of Paul’s
instruction is intended to move the recipients to think rightly about their circumstances. He wants them to view the pressures and
persecution around them from the perspective of gospel truth. So we are taking time in this blog
series to identify a number of gospel truths and explore how those truths might
help us to view our circumstances from the right perspective. The truths covered so far include: God
is holy; man is sinful; God is wrathful; and, man is doomed.
Now we turn to the “good” part of the good news – God is
gracious. What does it mean that
God is gracious? It means that He
is inclined to grant unmerited favor. We’ve noted in past articles that man
is completely helpless in his sin.
He cannot cover his sins previously committed, nor can he stop sinning
in the future. Further, his root problem is
that he has a sinful heart that is naturally bent against God and obedience to
God’s law. Man cannot change his
own heart and he justly deserves the wrath of God for his sin. His only hope
is that someone in a position to change his heart and cover his sin will move
to do so. But because he cannot merit this favor, it must come by grace.
The God of the Bible is inclined to grant unmerited favor to
the sinner. One of the earliest
and fullest descriptions of Himself can be found in Exodus 34:6-7, where Yahweh
revealed Himself to Moses: The LORD
passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and
gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,
keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and
sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the
fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the
fourth generation."
That God is gracious does not bind Him to grant unmerited
favor to any or all sinners. He
does so by His own sovereign choice (Rom 9:6-24).
To some sinner He demonstrates His wrath; to others His grace and
mercy. The prerogative to do
either is solely His.
How might this truth inform the believer’s thoughts about
his own circumstances? Here are
several examples:
A man has a sister who does not know the Lord. She seems beyond hope of salvation because
of her adamant denials of her sin and her need for a savior. The man is tempted to despair and at
times he even approaches a state of mourning for her soul. The truth of God’s grace could move his
thoughts in this direction: “Without the grace of God, ALL sinners are beyond
hope. Without the grace of God, I
would not have come to know His salvation. As long as there is breath in her lungs, there is hope that
God will graciously open her eyes and grant her repentance and faith. I must not despair, but continue to
reach out to her with the truth and pray that God would be gracious to her by
saving her.”
A woman is caught in habitual sexual sin. She has cycles of sin, depression,
repentance, and zeal, but then goes back to her sin. In her weakest moments, she uses the grace of God as an
excuse to indulge in her sin, knowing that “God will forgive me.” How could the truth of God’s grace
correct her thinking? “Grace is
owed to no one. It is guaranteed
to no one. To indulge in sin because
of God’s anticipated forgiveness is to presume upon His grace, which is a
dreadful sin itself. ‘Are we to
continue in sin that grace may abound?
May it never be! How can we
who died to sin still live in it?’ (Rom 6:1-2).”
A young man struggles with bitterness toward his father, who
sinned against him in a host of ways during his adolescence. He hears from other believers that he
must put away his bitterness and be poised to forgive. Yet, his desire is to punish his father
for his offenses. The grace of God
could shape his thoughts in this way: “My sins against God are far more
grievous than my father’s sins against me. I deserved hell for all eternity for rebelling against
Him. Yet, God was gracious to me
and provided a way for me to be forgiven.
I certainly didn’t deserve His favor. How on earth can I gladly receive the grace of God, but then
harbor bitterness against someone else?”
What are your current circumstances? At home? At work? In the
neighborhood? At church? How might an understanding of God’s
grace shape how you view those situations? Remember that we don’t start to be gospel-minded
spontaneously without putting forth any effort. We have to make time to do this. Why not take a few minutes right now to apply God’s grace to
your thinking about one issue you’re facing?
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