Transcript
I want to talk to you today about Grace. What is grace? What does it mean for you? Why do you need grace?
There is an old definition of grace—sort of a whimsical definition—that says Grace is like grits, it just comes free. The backstory there is that if you are in a restaurant in certain parts of the country, and you order breakfast, you are likely to get a plate of grits on the side. And so people say, grace is like that—it’s free, it just comes.
Now I had a friend in seminary who said, “I’ve heard that grits story about a million times, but nobody will give me an actual definition of grace!” Well here it is: Grace is unmerited divine favor.
Ephesians 2. 8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is a gift from God.”
Roughly speaking, there are two types of grace in Christian theology. Saving grace. And helping grace. And please don’t look this up in a theological dictionary – these are rough terms. I’m painting with broad brush strokes; and trying not to paint myself into a corner!
Saving grace is what happens when Jesus Christ comes into your life as Lord and Savior, and when you are filled with the Holy Spirit. This is the grace that saves you from the power of sin and death and brings you into right relationship with God.
Romans 6. 14 “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”
The New Testament often explains saving grace by using sort of a geographical metaphor. You once lived in the territory or location of sin and death; and now by grace, God has picked you up and moved you to a new address—life and righteousness in Christ.
Another metaphor is adoption. By grace, God has taken you into his family, giving you all the rights and privileges of an heir. If you have seen the musical or the movie Annie—you get the idea. There’s a young girl Annie, living in a terrible orphanage. Later there are two charlatans claiming to be her parents. But by the end of the movie, Annie goes to her new home—with Oliver Warbucks, and she is adopted as part of the family. Annie—watch this—is still herself, but everything about her has changed, because of her new adopted status. By the way, Daddy Warbuck’s secretary who comes to the orphanage and first meets Annie? Her name is Grace.
2 Timothy 1. 9 “He has saved us and called us to a holy life, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began.”
Now what about helping grace? Again, a general term. This is the ongoing grace of God that comes to us throughout life—the highs, the lows, the ups the downs, the trials and difficulties, the laughter and tears, the progress and the pain.
Helping grace doesn’t usually remove all our problems and knock down all obstacles. God can do that for sure. But more often, Grace works on the inside, such that God gives us the strength, courage, and wisdom to persevere in the midst of difficulty. To navigate this life and to live as a Christian. God gives us wisdom. James 1. 5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it (that is, wisdom) will be given to you.”
God wants us to ask.
Hebrews 4. 16 “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of Grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
I heard a story about a young boy who woke up one day and had it in his head that he wanted to clean up the whole yard. He went to his father and said, “Dad, will you pay me to clean up the yard.” The father said, “Ok. Yes I’ll pay you, if you do all the steps.”
Well the boy went out and took out the mower, started it up, mowed the entire lawn, put the mower back, and went into his father. I’m done he said. The father replied, “Well… I said I would pay you if you did all the steps.” So the son went back out and he started raking. He raked up any loose grass and put it bags, then he swept up any grass and put that in bags, carried the bags out to the street, went in to his father and said, ok I’m done. He replied , “It looks really good, but I said all the steps.” The son went out and started picking up rocks and stones, and loose sticks, he piled them up on the side of the yard, even made a little stone wall. He went in, totally spent, and said, Ok, now I’m done. The father said, “Not yet…”
“What do you mean? Said the boy. I mowed, I raked, I bagged, I even built a little stone wall. What possible step did I not do?!”
The father smiled and said, “You never asked me for help.”
Now that’s the end of the story, but I’m a softie so I like to think that the story ends with the father and son going out to the yard to build a treehouse. I don’t know!
What’s the point? God wants to give us his grace. And he wants us to ask for help.
2 Corinthians 12. 9. St Paul writes, “The Lord said to me ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
I know that for me, when my spiritual life really falls apart, it’s when I try to do it all on my own. To rely only on my own strength.
I’m not very direct in my sermons. But I’ll try to be direct now. What are YOU holding back from God right now? What challenge are you dealing with, and you have not asked God for help. You think, “Oh, God’s too busy to help with this problem.” What are you holding back from Him?
I’ll tell you one more story. I once knew a woman named Carolyn. She was one of the most faithful people I have every met. And one of the smartest people I have ever met. As it turns out I had the honor of preaching at her funeral. Well sat her funeral, her grown-up son, told this story, which he had told me before. He said that in her later years, mom lived alone, and so the kids got her one of those life alert buttons that you hang around your neck. So she could call 911 in an emergency. Well it turned out that Carolyn’s favorite thing was to walk outside in the yard and pick up sticks. She would do that for hours. (It’s funny, both of my sermon stories today involve yardwork. Ok.) Well one day she was out picking up sticks, and she fell. And, I can’t remember how it turned out, but it wasn’t after for a few hours that someone found her, just lying on the grass. Her kids were glad that she was ok, but they said mom, why didn’t you press the life alert button?! Well, I guess I just didn’t think of it. As the son tells the story, “My mother was lying there with salvation literally hanging around her neck, and she didn’t think to press the button.”
1 Peter 5. 10 “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”
In other words, press the button.
I want to close with a famous prayer. It is the collect for the first Sunday in Lent, which was last Sunday, but actually, it’s appropriate for the whole season of Lent.
Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan: Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
