Grace upon Grace James 4:6

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1 CORNERSTONE BIBLE CHURCH September 6, 2015 Grace upon Grace James 4:6 I pray the last two weeks have been an encouragement to all of us to pursue humility and fight against pride. As we grow in our walks with the Lord, we need to constantly remember those words from John Stott we have started each message with; that pride is our greatest enemy and humility is our greatest friend. I m not saying that it is always going to feel like this, but I hope when we distance ourselves from any situation we are in, we may see that pride is our greatest enemy and humility is our greatest friend. We have been working our way through James 4:6, which says, But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. We have noted the previous two weeks that God stands on the opposite side of the battlefield against those who are proud. But He stands next to those who are humble. When someone thinks highly of himself and seeks to remove God from His throne so he can sit on it (this is what pride is), they are setting themselves up for a battle that can never be won. But when a person thinks of himself as lowly and unworthy, God comes to His side to protect and give grace. Now, this morning, there are two things I want to do as we finish this short series. I want to first talk about things we can do in our life that will most likely move us towards this great virtue of humility. This is going to be fairly practical, but I want to start with this first. And then, I want to end our time this morning exploring the depths of this grace God extends to those who are humble. I want to go in this order, for I feel it is going to lead us well into a time around the Lord s Table as we take time to ponder His Amazing Grace. But before we dig those depths, let s get practical for a few minutes. I feel I can that we all desire humility, at least I hope we all do. After looking at the blessing last week of this great virtue, I hope it is something we desire more and more in our life. Maybe you walked out of last week thinking, Yes, Thad, I agree. Humility is a greatly needed virtue and one that I m far from. Is there anything I can do in my life that will lead me further down the road towards humility? I m glad you asked. Most of these practical steps I m going to share with you are found in C. J. Mahaney s book on Humility that I passed out this 1

2 morning. I d recommend it get added to your beside reading list. Here are Five Steps that Should Lead You to Grow in Humility... FIRST, REMEMBER THE CROSS EVERY DAY. Let s not forget that we defined humility as the ability to honestly assess ourselves in light of God s holiness and our sinfulness. Humility is the ability to see that God is the One in charge and we are not. He deserves the throne and we do not. It s the ability to recognize this in our life and then live in light of that. Respond to others because of that. Well, nothing reminds us of our insignificance more than the cross. Nothing reminds us that we can t do it than the cross of Jesus Christ, and really His entire life. He did what none of us could do. Think about His life for a minute and what you will realize is that from His birth to His ascension, we find point after point that reminds us that He is God and we are not. Have you ever wondered about the virgin birth? One point of the Virgin Birth is that it reminds us that not only is mankind unable to secure his own salvation, but we are unable to even introduce the Savior into human society. The virgin birth is an unmistakable reminder that salvation can never come through human effort, but must be the work of God himself. How is that? The Incarnation was simply the way in which God chose to bring His Son to this earth in order to become man so that He could go to the cross. And so we remind ourselves daily that He came to do what we could never do. He died the death that I deserve to die so that I might live the life I do not deserve to live. This can t, but produce humility, when understood in proper perspective of our life. And so daily, maybe remind yourself of this: God is holy; I am sinful; He sent His Son to live the perfect life and die a terrible death so that I might be brought back into a relationship with Him; and He overcame sin and death by rising from the dead so that I can live eternally with Him. Remind yourself of this everyday and I would be shocked if it doesn t begin you down the road towards humility. Every time we look at the cross, Christ seems to be saying to us, I am here because of you. It is your sin I am bearing, your curse I am suffering, your debt I am paying, your death I am dying. Nothing in history or in the universe cuts us down to size like the cross. All of us have inflated views of ourselves, especially in self-righteousness, until 2

3 we have visited a place called Calvary. It is there, at the foot of the cross, that we shrink to our true size. 1 By the way, I said that nothing reminds us of our insignificance like the cross, but once we realize how worthless we are, the cross also lifts us up as we ponder the love He has for us. It s amazing that way. It humbles us and once we are humbled, it comforts us. It heals. Second, Acknowledge Your Dependence and Need for God. This is the outflow of remembering the cross daily; we realize how much we need the Lord for everything in our life. I wonder what would happen if the first thing we do in the morning would be to say a simple prayer: Lord, I don t know what You have for me today, but I know I m going to need You; so please help me be close to You today. And then I wonder what would happen if at times of the day, whenever we think about the Lord, we stop and say a similar prayer: Father, help me right now not drift from You. Help me stay close to You right now because I need You in my life. And then what would it look like at the end of each day for you to reflect upon how much God you needed God in your life? How do we know if we are acknowledging our dependence and need for God in our life? Certainly through our prayer life. That s one way, for certain. How about our time in the Word? I can t imagine that a consistent opening of God s Word everyday wouldn t be an expression of a heart that that knows how much it needs God. Third, Study the Attributes of God. What does it mean that God is infinite? Study that and you will be blown away and humbled. What does it mean that God is Creator? How about His omnipresence? He is everywhere equally at the same time. Understanding the depths of this, as much as we can, should project us towards the path of humility. What about that God is self-existent; He is Holy; He is Omniscient; He is perfect; He is good; He is sovereign over all things; He does whatever He wants... how do you think understanding these things at a deeper level would impact your pride and humility? And so I would encourage you to pick up a systematic theology (I d be glad to give you some recommendations), grab a book by an author you trust, do a word study in your Bible... do something to stretch your mind on one or many of the attributes of God. It will lead you toward humility. 1 Stott, John. The Message of Galatians. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1968),

4 Fourth, Invite Correction and Input in Your Life. I can t imagine a situation in which inviting someone into the inner sanctuary of your life wouldn t strip you of your pride and begin to produce humility. I can t imagine a situation in which inviting someone to hold you accountable on some situation in your life wouldn t impact you toward humility. The act itself is an act of humility and it will continue to move your toward more and more humility. Fifth, Learn to Laugh at Yourself. Let s get over the pretention that we are more important than we are. Let s realize that we do really dumb things from time to time. Yes, we do dumb things. So laugh at yourself. Don t allow yourself to get to wrapped up in yourself that you cannot find humor at times when you trip as you walk into that job interview you really want. Laugh at yourself. Laughter is a diving gift to the human who is humble. A proud man cannot laugh because he must watch his dignity; he cannot give himself over to the rocking and rolling of his belly. But a poor and happy man laughs heartily because he gives no serious attention to his ego. 2 And so have a good laugh. Laugh at things that happen around you. Laugh at yourself. Let down the guard of seriousness from time to time in order to let out a good belly laugh and maybe even a snort. These are a few practical steps we can take to move us down that road toward more humility. And why should we desire more humility? I would suggest the reason why we should want to pursue humility is that in James 4:6, we are told that God gives grace to the humble. In fact, we are told that He is such a giving God that He gives more grace. Think about that for a minute. It sounds incredible. How many of us wouldn t want to know the secret to getting more of God s grace? If there is something we could do in our life to get more of God s grace, I find it hard to imagine any of us not being interested. I can t imagine a situation in which a child of God who has already tasted of this grace, wouldn t want more of it and immediately respond with the question, How do I get more of that? It s grace. God s grace! It doesn t get much better than this! Well, I wanted to spend a few minutes contemplating this grace that He promises to give to those who are humble. 2 Lindvall, Terry. Surprised by Laughter: The Comic World of C. S. Lewis. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1996),

5 Now, one of the first thoughts I have when I read this is that I am faced with a type of dilemma that demands an explanation. I made mention last week that this seems as though what James is saying if we act in a certain way or we do certain things, that God will be more gracious to us than if we didn t do them. That seems to me to be the opposite of grace. That seems to me to be works. That seems to me to be a type counterbalances, with the one side our works and the other side God s grace. The more work we put in, the more grace he adds to our favor so that it is always balanced. But that s not grace at all, as the Bible describes it. This word Grace means Unmerited Favor. This is the basic definition of what grace means. It means something that is given not based on any work, but it flows out of the loving choice of the giver. Grace is something that is most often referred to as a characteristic of God giving to those who do not deserve anything. It has nothing to do with what the person has done, but based solely on His loving decision to give it. Grace is not taking your kids to Dairy Queen because they made their bed and picked up their room every day this week. Grace is taking them when their room looks like an F-5 Tornado went through and they didn t pick up one thing this week. That s grace. That s unmerited favor. Even in our passage in James, we see that it is something God gives. He gives more grace. Grace upon grace. It is His gift to someone not based on their actions or worth, but based upon His sovereign choice. When we read the Bible, grace is never witnessed as the counter-balance thought, with merit on one side and grace on the other side. This then raises the question of what we do with James 4:6 that says He gives more of His unmerited favor to those who are humble. Isn t this a contradiction? Doesn t this seem like the opposite of unmerited favor? Doesn t this seem like merited favor? As if you do this thing (humility) then you get this result (grace). It seems like this, until you put the puzzle piece of humility together with it. Let s not forget how we define humility. It s properly assessing ourselves in light of God s holiness and our sinfulness. Humility is to think lowly of ones self. It is the internal attitude that says God is the ruler and I don t deserve to rule. He deserves all and that the only way I m going to make it in life is to fall at His feet in worship of Him, begging Him for help. That s humility! And it is this attitude that James says finds grace. 5

6 I think the puzzle piece that we cannot forget is that humility, if it is true humility, never sees itself as a work. It never sees itself as important. It never sees itself as an act worthy of reward. That s not humility, but pride masquerading as humility. Humility falls at the foot of the cross begging for help. In fact, I think we can make a pretty strong argument from Scripture that humility is both the result and reward of grace. Nobody is humble unless the Lord extends His grace to them in the first place. And nobody continues to be humble without His grace continually extended. And when we continue to display this humility, He continues to extend more and more grace our way. When a person is truly humble, there s no limit to the amount of grace they will experience from the hand of God. Even in this context, which we stated at the very beginning, begs for more grace. If you remember, at the beginning of chapter 4, James main concern is that the people of his church, which have been scattered because of persecution of their faith, not fall for the temptation to pursue worldly things. He wants them to fully love Jesus alone. He wants them to have the attitude of dependence upon Jesus that they first had when they came to Him in faith. But as we all know, when pressures of life attack us, the real us comes to the surface. When they are on their run for their life, leaving home and possessions, there is the temptation that they may long for the things of the world. They begin to fight with each other. James reminds them that their fighting is based on the fact that they is greed in their heart for worldly things. They covet what other people have and want it so badly that they fight others for it. This is not how the Christian, the one who loves Jesus, should act. In fact, his language in vs. 4 is shocking. He calls them adulterous people. The fact that they love the world so much that they want what other people have and it causes fights among them is compared to cheating on Jesus in the same way a spouse might cheat on their spouse. Spiritual Adultery. That s serious language. If you are a friend of the world, you are an enemy with God! My guess is that we hardly know or understand the depth of this statement, and maybe we are scared to know about it. And then in vs. 5, it seems as though James is saying that God has given the redeemed man His Spirit, which yearns earnestly for our total loyalty and devotion. The Spirit of God, alive in us, desires us to love Jesus and pursue Jesus with all that we are and have. He wants us to act 6

7 like we are actually on His team, not the opposing battlefield. How do we do that when we have been giving ourselves to the world and cheating on Jesus as a spiritual adulterer? He gives more grace! This is great. I think what James is reminding them is that while they have cheated on Jesus; there is grace that covers them. In fact, there is grace available to cover so much more. He gives more grace. More grace than the grace for salvation; He gives the grace for living a life in submission to Jesus Christ. More grace than the grace for one sin. He gives and gives of His grace. Whenever they sin, they are covered in more of His grace. It is exactly what the Apostle Paul argues in the book of Romans. Romans 5:20 21 [open] God gives the Law in the OT in order to alert people to their sin. It helps them understand how far they are from God s holiness. The Law lets people know how desperate they are without God s grace in their life. It is a mirror that reveals their hopeless situation. The Law is a very powerful force. But what Paul is arguing here is that God s grace is far more powerful than their sin. It is sufficient to cover the sin the Law reveals. Where sin increases, grace super-increases. This is a fantastic thought for us this morning. However deep we may fall into sin, God s grace is deeper still. It goes further and farther than any sin we could ever commit. We can never out-sin the grace of God. There is no limit to His grace. It goes further than we can imagine; deeper than we can comprehend. Have you ever thought you have gone too far that God could not forgive you? God s grace goes further. Do you think you have done something that is unforgivable? Then you have no idea of the super-increasing grace of God. It doesn t matter if you are a good person or the vilest of creatures; we are in desperate need of God s grace. It doesn t matter if you think you have done nothing wrong or if you know you are in deep trouble, we need the grace of God. It doesn t matter if you sin little or by the truckload, the grace of God is deep enough to cover. One commentator has said... The grace that goes forth to all sinners, whether first-class, secondclass, or third-class is the limitless, measureless, infinite grace of God. It knows no change of source or purpose. It would be impossible for God to exert more pressure and bestow more grace, because grace is 7

8 already the supreme, infinite flow of perfect love. It would likewise be impossible for God to do less for a sinner, for no brakes can check the work of God. At the cross He forever destroyed all that sin is and all that sin can do. 3 I don t know what s going on in your heart this morning, but let me just remind you over and over again that there is nothing you have done or ever could do that could trump the grace of our great God! His grace far surpasses any of our stupidity. It goes further than any of our dumb choices. It is greater than the Energizer Bunny who eventually quits. God s grace keeps going and going and going. Some people struggle with this thought, for they believe that if you continue to teach the grace of God, people will trample on it. And many do. They teach that there is nothing we can do that surpasses the grace of God and so they live up life. They do whatever they want, thinking that it doesn t matter what I watch or listen to or do in my life, God will cover it. But if that s the response, then they have never understood the grace of God. That s not how someone responds to the ultimate generosity of a good God. It s not what the Apostle Paul said is the response of the person who experiences God s grace... Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? And it s not what James says is the response of the person who receives God s grace. James tells us that He gives more grace. And who does He give it to? He gives it to the humble. Does that sound like the person who experiences God s grace and tramples on it keeping hold of their sin? Of course not. He gives this more grace to those who fall down at the foot of the cross, not to those who seek to assume the throne to live their life anyway they want. Martin Luther once said... The Law is a mirror to show a person what he is like, a sinner who is guilty of death, and worthy of everlasting punishment. What is this bruising and beating by the hand of the Law to accomplish? This, that we may find the way to grace. The Law is an usher to lead the way to grace. God is the God of the humble, the miserable, the afflicted.... When the Law drives you to the point of despair, let it drive you a little farther, let it drive you straight into the arms of Jesus who says: Come 3 Barnhouse, Donald Grey. Romans III. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans),

9 unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. And so as we reflect upon His grace, we turn our attention to the cross once again. Let s drive our lives deeper and deeper towards the arms of Jesus, where we find comfort and peace. It s at the cross that we find that hope. It s at the cross that we find comfort. It s at the cross that we are moved to humility. The Lord s Supper 9