Our Solas Part 3 Sola Gratia - Grace Alone Selected Scripture Sunday January 22, 2017 There was a deep dissonance in Luther s soul, an uneasy restlessness in his mind, a profound hunger to experience assurance about his salvation and yet it eluded him at every turn. He was raised in the Church, gave his life to it by becoming a monk, earned his doctorate to teach others the faith and yet never found certainty of salvation for himself. Like some gnawing hunger his need for certainty kept eating away inside of him, in spite of everything he did. He had been taught that the Church was a depository of grace. That the favour of God, the deeds of the saints and the prayers of the people filled the church like an overflowing water fountain and if you needed grace, the institution of Church had it in abundance. The leaders of the Church were the stewards of this grace who dispensed it to those who were worthy to receive it. Common every day believers did not receive this grace, only those who earned or purchased it or were worthy of it could find it. Luther was desperate to be worthy. So he threw himself into the journey to earn it. He prayed, fasted, confessed for hours on end, took the sacraments as often as he could, went on pilgrimages, and cried out to the saints to intercede for him through the dark nights of his prayer vigils. On a pilgrimage to Rome he
went to the Scala Sancta 1 (The Holy Stairs) and climbed the set of stairs on his knees in contrite prayer kissing each step as he went 2. Yet even then no certainty came to his soul. Instead of the grace and certainty he sought he came away from all of these pursuits and disciplines with a deep sense of his own sinfulness. It seemed that at every turn in his efforts to find God s grace and certainty he was reminded of how Holy God was and how he unholy he was. The more he tried to be worthy through the disciplines the Church said were avenues of grace, the more uncertain he became and the more unworthy he felt. He wrote later: I was a good monk and kept my order so strictly that I could say that if ever a monk could get to heaven through monastic discipline, I should have entered in..but I always doubted and said You did not perform that correctly. You were not contrite enough. You left that out of your confession. 3 Rather than the confirmation of grace he desperately sought he found his own inadequacies in increasing measure. He knew he wasn t worthy of the grace and certainty he sought and he knew he couldn t ever get it right. As that realization settled into his mind and heart a type of spiritual depression settled into his soul. In spite of his best efforts he was unable to come near to God, unable to please Him, unable to find peace and certainty through the avenues of grace that the Church told him were his only option. At the end of it all, the dissonance, restlessness and hunger were more pronounced than ever. 1 See: https://www.walksofitaly.com/top-attractions/scala-sancta-holy-stairs 2 See: http://www.ligonier.org/blog/fortress-truth-martin-luther/ and Barbara A. Somervill, Luther: Father of the Reformation Martin [Minneapolis: Compass Point Books, 2006], 36). 3 See George Yule, Luther and the Ascetic Life pp 230-231
Then things took an amazing turn. In response to John Tetzel s teaching about indulgences which deeply disturbed him, he diligently searched the scriptures. He wanted to find answers to correct what he saw as a wrong teaching coming from a Church leader. While engaged in that personal study primarily rooted in the New Testament letters to the Romans and the Galatians he had a profound moment of revelation. Salvation, certainty and grace were not the property of the Church to be disbursed to those who earned it or were worthy of it, but a gift from God for those who were willing to receive it by faith. Here is a video clip that describes his journey and that moment of personal revelation: Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_qnstr7i04 As a result of his study his mind was absolutely clear and at peace for the first time. It was scripture alone that brought him to this place of clarity, not the laws of the Church. It was faith alone that that justified him in God s sight, not his contrite prayers and painful disciplines that the Church recommended. And it was grace alone that saved him and brought him the peace and certainty that he had hungered for. Those three truths: word alone, faith alone and grace alone became the pathway of his salvation and the cornerstones of his life and teaching from that day forward. In his own words with these truths fully understood he was reborn and the Protestant Reformation that would change the face of Europe and the world was born. As a church family we are on a journey these days into the five key sola s of the Reformation. 2017 marks the 500 th anniversary of this profound hinge of history and we are starting our year by reflecting on these five key truths. This morning we are focusing on the third sola-
grace alone which transformed Luther s life and gave to him the peace and certainty that he had desperately sought for so long. In order to help us understand this truth we are going to look at and attempt to answer three simple questions about Sola Gratia. There are obviously more questions than three surrounding this topic but these three are probably the most necessary to fully understand what Grace Alone really means. What are the questions? What is grace? What difference does grace really make? Have you experienced this grace? What Is Grace? Grace is one of those words that is simple and complex; broad and specific; and as such is hard to both accurately and comprehensively define. The English word comes from Latin and originally meant to experience favour and to express gratitude for it 4. The Greek word in the New Testament most often translated as grace is charis 5 and implies benevolent blessing, delight and thanksgiving 6. Our English use of the word gives us an even broader picture of what it means. Dancers are often described as graceful; we are often given grace periods to our pay bills without penalty; gracious people are known for their kindness and mercy; we say grace at meals; while people who are selfish, demanding and controlling are often referred to as graceless. When we put it all together we begin to understand what we mean we use the word grace. 4 https://www.slu.edu/colleges/as/languages/classical/latin/tchmat/grammar/vocabulary/wdgratiacic.html 5 Pronounced: Care eese 6 See: http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/nas/charis.html
When we experience grace we are being given a great gift, a favour, a kindness and mercy in a delightful, beautiful and life changing way that leads us to thankfulness. It is an undeserved gift from God that often takes us by surprise. We see some of these ideas expressed when we read this well known verse: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God Ephesians 2: 8 Paul is telling us that grace alone saves us; it is a delightful life changing gift from God that comes unexpectedly and undeservedly to us. In essence, experiencing this grace means that every debt to God has been cancelled and we are forgiven of all our sin, failures, and errors, covering the past, present and future. That s why grace has often been summarized by Christian teachers as the unmerited favour and blessing of God. Many Christian communicators have also used this acronym to communicate what grace is: God s Riches At Christ s Expense. Both of these phrases are helpful reminders, I think, that Jesus makes this beautiful gift of grace possible for all of us. I believe that the most important thing here though, is that grace is not so much a word to define or theological concept to grasp, as it is probably best pictured and understood as a person. Jesus is the visible manifestation of God s grace for us. Paul, in his letter to Titus, put it this way: For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. Titus 2: 11
The grace of God that appeared in our world bringing salvation was Jesus Christ. 7 He is the ultimate expression of God s grace. We need the grace that Jesus offers and his grace alone to find peace and security and to see our lives change. Furthermore, we need to be vehicles of that grace to the world in which we live. In other words, we pay forward the grace that we have received. We don t earn it, are not worthy of it, we receive it freely by faith and so we freely pass it on to others. That is what Grace is: a great gift, a favour, a kindness and mercy personified in Jesus and available to everyone in a delightful, beautiful and life changing way. With this grace we are saved; without we are lost. We need this grace, and this grace alone. What Difference Does Grace Make? We could simply ask people to tell us their story this morning and we would be richly blessed by hearing the difference that God s grace has made in their lives. There is no shortage of people in SBC with stories to tell of the grace of Jesus! On the other hand we could stop and reflect on dozens of passages of scripture that comprehensively describe what grace does and the difference it makes 8. I suggest that for this overview of grace alone however that there are five significant differences that come with the gift of grace that we all benefit from. They are: We are called and saved by grace alone - 2 Tim 1:9 7 See John 1: 14;17 8 Consider: Acts 18:27; Ephesians 2:5; 8-9; Romans 3:24; Romans 6:14; Hebrews 10:10; and Titus 2: 11-12 for a start
He has saved us and called us to a holy life not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time We are forgiven by grace alone - Ephesians 1: 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God s grace We are accepted by grace alone Romans 3:24 Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight 9. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. (NLT) We are empowered by grace alone to live for God - Titus 2: 11-12 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say No to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, Grace alone is all we need - 2 Corinthians 12: 9a Each time he said, My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness. (NLT) In other words the Christian life from beginning to end is a journey of grace. We don t deserve it, or earn it and we don t have to be worthy of it. It is God s gift to us that we can only receive by faith as a gift of grace. The Bible itself is a story of this grace from Adam and Eve s sin in the beginning and God s gracious response to them to the last words of 9 For people who prefer literal translations this is the meaning of the word justified. However, justified is a word that doesn t get used in our daily lives these days and as such people often fail to understand it. What does justified mean? To be made right, hence the New Living Translation.
the last book, Revelation, where we are promised that the grace of Jesus Christ will be with Gods people. It is all grace and grace alone and it is all we need no matter our situation or circumstance. Have You Experienced this Amazing Grace? God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. Ephesians 2: 8-9 NLT If you have believed in Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you have experienced his gift of grace. It was grace that called you, grace that convicted you and grace that brought you to salvation. It is grace that leads you, grace that gifts you to serve, and grace that is transforming you. It is grace that will see you all the way home to eternity. The well known hymn Amazing Grace expresses some of these ideas/gifts: Twas grace that taught my heart to fear and grace my fears relieved (v 2) Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home (V 4) We are people who have received this amazing gift of grace and we are called to be a people who pay forward this grace all the days of our lives. If you have never asked Christ into your life before and you know you need his grace, I suggest that it is time to ask for it. It is freely available
to any and all who have enough faith to believe and ask for it. How do you do that? Here is a prayer that will get you started: Dear God, I need You. I am humbly calling out to You. I'm tired of doing things my way. I invite You into my life to be my Lord and my Savior. Fill the emptiness in me with Your Holy Spirit and make me whole. Lord; by Your grace help me to trust You, help me to love You, help me to live for You, and help me to understand Your grace, mercy, and peace. Thank You, Lord. In Jesus name I pray. If you pray this prayer you will begin a journey of grace that will change your life forever. Just ask Martin Luther. Amen