Grace & Lawlessness -- 11/05/06 (Eternal Realities)

November 5, 2006

GRACE AND LAWLESSNESS
Jude 1-4; Heb. 4:14-16

Before we get into our scripture for this morning, let me mention something to you. I realize that some of you weren’t able to be at Kenneth’s funeral Friday. I had the privilege of sharing at that time. What we talked about is not only appropriate for that funeral service, but it is very fitting for all of us. I tried to put down on paper what was said, as best I could. I put about a dozen copies back there on the table. If we run out, I will make some more. We talked about Kenneth and then we talked about his Lord.

So where are we this morning? We are talking about grace. Last week we emphasized the fact that grace is not only undeserved favor associated with the forgiveness of sins, but it is also the power that enables those forgiven sinners to live as saints in everyday life. Remember the verse we began with last week. Heb. 12:14, "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord." Literally, "Pursue… holiness." And the context makes it clear that he is talking about practical holiness, about living set-apart lives day by day.

Let’s go back and read again Rom 6:14-15, "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." I Cor 15:10, "But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." And II Cor 12:9-10, "And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong."

Now let’s go back to the little object lesson with which we closed. [Two sets of three holding hands: law/works/flesh vs. grace/faith/Spirit. See last week’s notes… "More Grace"].

Now we have been through this before, and we will go through it many times in the future, if the Lord should tarry. But now let me bring us back to what we have been talking about for weeks, and that is the deception that has invaded the church in our day. We have been led to believe that since we are under grace, we can just throw out the law of God. Since grace is a good thing, then the law is bad. We would never say that, but our attitudes and actions speak louder than our words.

Grace gives us the power through the Spirit to fulfill the righteous demands of the law, not to ignore those commands. Let me repeat that: Grace gives us the power through the Spirit to obey the righteous demands of the law, not to ignore those commands. That is precisely what we just read in Rom. 8:3-4. But we tend to rewrite it like this: "What the law could do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, has given us the freedom to rise above the law and realize that its commands are not for us." And that, my friends, is the deception of the enemy.

Come with me back to Matthew 7, where we spent our time a couple of weeks ago. Matt. 7:21, "Not everyone that says to me ‘Lord, Lord’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." I confess that I have emphasized the first part of the verse so much that I have failed to properly call attention to the last part. Who is that will enter the kingdom? The one who does the will of the Father. And what is the will of the Father?

Now let’s read 22-23, Mat 7:22-23 "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23. And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." We looked at that word translated "iniquity." The translation "lawlessness" is literal and very accurate, because this is a compound word made up of the word "law" with a negative in front of it. Jesus will say to many, "I never knew you; depart from me, you who are working (practice) lawlessness." Those who live a life that disregards the law of God will not enter the kingdom. Do you see the connection between the will of God and the law of God?
Now let’s turn to I John 3, and lets read I John 3:4, "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law; for sin is the transgression of the law." Hear that well – sin is the transgression of the law. Let me give you a very literal translation of this verse: "Everyone who is practicing sin (paV o poiwn) is also practicing lawlessness, for sin is lawlessness." That word "iniquity" (or "lawlessness") we found in Matt. 7:23 is found twice in this verse, and is here translated "lawlessness." It is the exact same word. Sin is lawlessness. The person who practices sin is practicing lawlessness.

So where did we ever get the idea that to be under grace exempts us from obedience to the law of God? I believe it is because we see the strong contrast between grace and law, as in Romans 6:14. So we tend to conclude that they are opposites. To be under law means that we must obey; to be under grace means that we don’t have to obey. And once that thought rears its ugly head, our enemy nourishes it until we think it’s the truth. And again, I must confess that I have not been as clear on this subject as I should have been – both in my own thinking and in what I have taught. Here is the real contrast between law and grace…
The lie – To be under law means that we must obey; to be under grace means we don’t have to obey.
The truth – To be under law means we are not able to obey; to be under grace means we now have the power to obey.

So what happens when we entertain the lie that we are exempt from obedience to a holy God? Come to that little letter from Jude. Let’s read Jude 1-4…
Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called: 2. Mercy unto you, and peace and love, be multiplied. 3. Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. 4. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

According to verse 3, Jude was going to write to these brothers and sisters in the Lord concerning the salvation which they held in common. But before he could do so, there was something more urgent. It was necessary for him to write and exhort (urge) them to earnestly contend for the faith. What faith? That faith which consisted of the truth which was delivered to the saints once and for all. And why this urgent necessity? Because certain men had came in secretly and were turning the grace of God into lasciviousness. And by doing so, they were denying the only Lord God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now let’s focus on this idea that certain men were turning the grace of God into lasciviousness. Other than from the scriptures, has anyone heard the word "lasciviousness" lately? I didn’t think so. An English dictionary defined "lascivious" as "lewd, lustful." However, the word so translated here goes deeper than that. While it may move over into something that causes sexual excitement, that is not the root idea the word. Of its ten occurrences in the New Testament, twice in the KJV it is translated "wantonnees," another word we don’t use any more. "Wanton" means "hard to discipline, undisciplined, unruly." This isn’t just immoral behavior, but rather a refusal to submit to authority. Here we see that it is a twisting of grace. This perversion of grace allows a person to do whatever he chooses, with no restraints. What he chooses isn’t really the issue. The issue is that he himself chooses to do it, rather than being in submission to the Lord, who bought him with a price.

Now notice again here in verse 4 that Jude equates this turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness with denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. This is a serious thing. This is not just a minor error in doctrine; this is a denying of the Lord. The grace that came through Jesus Christ is twisted in such a way that it is used to set us free from His authority. Jesus said, "All authority in heaven and in earth is given unto me" (Matt. 28:18), but this perversion of grace attempts to strip him of that authority.

In Gal. 1:13-15 Paul testified that before God called him by His grace, he persecuted the church beyond measure and wasted it. You will recall that Paul was rounding up Christians far and wide. Listen to me. The physical persecution that Paul heaped on the church was not nearly as destructive as this twisting of grace. In Paul’s day, people knew who the enemy was. But now this counterfeit grace is viewed as the most wonderful friend a person could ever have, because it allows us to do whatever we want. So a person ends up in bondage, and doesn’t even know it.

Conclusion

Now let’s conclude by coming to Hebrews 4. Please don’t misunderstand me this morning. Don’t leave this place thinking, "Today we heard a sermon on the evils of grace." No you heard a sermon on the evils of a counterfeit grace. God’s grace is indeed amazing, far more amazing than we have ever realized. Let’s read about that grace in Heb. 4:14-16…
Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 16. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Praise God for our great high priest, the Lord Jesus Christ. While other high priests had to offer sacrifice for their own sins and the sins of others, this high priest had no sins of His own. While He didn’t offer sacrifice for His own sins, He did offer sacrifice for the sins of others. But the sacrifice He offered was not a four-legged lamb. Rather, He offered Himself. His sacrifice didn’t have to be repeated again and again; He offered Himself once for all.

But surely such a majestic high priest who had no sins of His own would not be able to understand and care for people like us. What could he possibly know about our battle with sin? Our high priest can indeed sympathize with our weaknesses, because He Himself was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. That doesn’t mean that Jesus was tempted to rob an Allsups, as some are tempted. Nevertheless, Jesus faced the same temptation, for He was tempted to steal. He knows about all the temptations you are facing, because He faced them too. Yet He never sinned, not once.

Therefore, in light of this great High Priest we have, let us come boldly to the throne of grace. That does not mean that we come in a cocky manner. It means that we can come freely to the throne, where grace is dispensed. We don’t have to hold back. And what do we find at the throne of grace? We find two things – mercy and grace to help in time of need. And this brings us back to where we started two weeks ago, to mercy and grace.

Why do we need mercy? Because sometimes we fail. We succumb to the temptation, and we sin. Praise God that when we sin, there is mercy. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (I John 1:9). Praise God for that mercy! When you sin, come to the throne of grace and ask for mercy. God hears and will indeed give mercy. Jesus died to forgive you of just such sins.

But that isn’t all. At the throne of grace, there is more than just mercy available to us. There is also grace to help in time of need. Certainly there is grace associated with that mercy and forgiveness of sins, because that mercy is found at the throne of grace, but grace goes far beyond that mercy. At this same throne of grace, we can find grace to help in time of need.

Let me put it like this. Consider a sin you committed during the past couple of weeks. You were tempted and you sinned. Did you come to the throne of grace? Did you come to the throne of grace to obtain mercy? If you did, was God faithful and just to forgive you and cleanse you? Yes, He was. Praise God for the mercy you found at the throne of grace. That’s wonderful. Now what if you commit that sin again, what will you do? Will you not again come to the throne of grace in order to obtain mercy? Even if you commit the sin 137 times, come to the throne of grace to obtain mercy.

But remember that the verse doesn’t end there. It also says "and to find grace in time of need." What is the time of need? The time of need is when you are tempted. We don’t have to keep committing the same sin over and over again. When we are tempted, we can come to the throne of grace to find grace in our time of need. We don’t have to wait until we sin and then come for mercy. We can indeed find this grace to help in time of need. This is where we see grace going beyond mercy, where we see that grace is greater than the forgiveness of sins.

I heard it illustrated something like this. Let’s suppose you are climbing a mountain, and you slip. There you are, hanging by your fingertips, just about to fall. But you are too proud to ask for help. You struggle and struggle, but finally you fall to bottom and break your bones. You cry for help, and the ambulance comes along and picks you up. That’s mercy. The ambulance comes and takes you where your bones are mended. When you are healed up, you go back to climb again. When you get in trouble, you are still too proud to ask for help. When you fall, you cry for help, and the ambulance comes again and takes you to the place where they can mend your bones. That’s mercy – the ambulance coming for you. Praise God for mercy! Praise God that He forgives us when we fall.

The good news is that there is more. When we are about to fall, we can cry out to God for grace. Before we fall, God can give us grace. Before we know it, someone has lifted us up to the top of that cliff. We don’t know how we got there, but we find it is true. This is grace. We can come to the throne of grace before we fall. We can pray the prayer that Peter prayed when he was about to sink: "Lord, save me" (Matt. 14:30). Do you see it? Mercy deals with our past. Grace deals with our future.

Go back to Paul. He was afflicted by that thorn in the flesh. Apart from grace, he would eventually become bitter or become discouraged. But instead of bitterness or discouragement, he actually boasted in his own weaknesses. How could he do it? Grace. He found grace to help in his time of need. Brothers and sisters, we too can find grace to help in our time of need.

The key is applying this truth to our own lives. This past week someone called on the phone. When I hung up, Rhonda asked who called. I responded by telling her who called and what the caller wanted. However, I didn’t tell the whole truth. The person who called had two things on her mind. I shared with Rhonda the one, but not the other. I had my reasons for not sharing the second, which was really the main reason she called. While I did technically tell the truth, in reality, I lied.

So what happened there? I failed. So finally I confessed it to God, and He has forgiven me. I came freely to the throne of grace and obtained mercy. I fell, and the ambulance came and rescued me. Praise God for that. But I didn’t find grace to help in time of need. Why not? Because I didn’t ask for it. Before I even thought about it, I responded to Rhonda’s question with less than the truth. My prayer is that the next time such a situation arises and I am tempted to shade the truth, I will realize the temptation and cry out for grace to help in time of need. "Lord, help me." The promise is that the Lord will help, as we read clearly that we will find grace to help in time of need. What a promise!