What's Grace?

It was grace that appeared (as a gift granted unto him--a slave-trader. He knew it something that he didn't deserve. Thus free undeserved merit)

It came the hour he first believed. The grace of God that brings salvation to all men, may indeed come to all men and give all men a chance to believe. But the grace of God can only be appropriated by man if he believes as Newton did. "The hour he first believed," is when his fears were relieved, when the grace of God that brings salvation was brought to him and made efficacious to him as the blood of Christ was applied to his soul, and washed away his sin: past, present, and future.
Any teaching that took place was a by-product of the grace received the hour he first believed. For grace in and of itself is a gift that can only be received as a gift to those who don't deserve it. We learn by the consequent reception of it. What are the consequent results that God's grace has had on a believers life? Trust Christ and find out.
DHK

 

And that is salvation if you trust him by faith alone, and not by faith plus "obedience" or works.

If you don't, then you haven't trusted him at all. You have trusted your obedience (works) for your salvation. Christ and Christ alone can save. You cannot save yourself and you would be foolish to think you could. You (I use "you" to mean any person) are like a person that is 100 yards from thie pier in the sea without enough strength to swim back. You yell: "Help! Help! I am drowning! Help!" The man at the pier says: "Swim to shore and you will be safe." Good advice but that is what you cannot do. You cannot swim. Your works don't count at all. Your works can't save. You are drowning, no matter what you do will die, unless somehow there is a hand extended to you that is stronger than you and is able to pull you out of that water and set you on solid ground. That man would be your Saviour. He alone could save you. You would have to trust him completely. You would have a choice: "I am too good to put my hand in your hand; I don't like your race; You look too skinny to save me; Your nose is crooked, etc." Like many people, they will not trust their Saviour by faith and faith alone. Their pride gets in the way. For some reason or another they think that the Saviour is not good enough to save them. If you are out drowning in the sea, you had better not care what that man looks like as long as he is able to pull you out of the water. You simply need to put faith in him and his ability to save you.

If you are out there as a lost sinner drowning in the sea of sinfulness, you need to trust Christ alone as Saviour, no pride; no works; no excuses; nothing but faith. Don't even think of obedience here. Just trust him by faith. He is the one you look to pull you out of the water and rescue you. You can't stop and say: "Wait, I need to be baptized!" It won't work. It is now or never. Salvation is a one time act. It is not progressive. You are either saved or you are not. I was saved and then baptized two years later, but saved nevertheless. Baptism had nothing to do with my salvation. I trusted Christ by faith, and faith alone. That is the only way a person can be saved. Obedience (works) has nothing to do with salvation.

"The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it." (Jer.17:9)
See what I mean??
Do you claim to know the heart of man? The obedience of a believer is in God's hands not yours (or man's). "Who are thou that judgest thy brother." You (one) are very arrogant to presume you can know the heart of man by examing the works or lack thereof of any given individual. Only God knows the heart. "The Lord knows them that are his."

I don't assume the salvation of any person on this board. Only God knows the heart.
DHK

 

Greetings


QUOTE]Originally posted by bmerr:
Without a doubt there is none that deserves God's grace, in any sense. It was grace that did the teaching, that caused the fear, that relieved the fear.[/quote]

That sounds nice. To me it is OSAS since you used the past tense "relieved." This is also the teaching of Rom 6:7 where we poor wretches are freed (dikaiow - perfect tense) from our sins. When one is freed from sin, then there truly is no more fear for who can condemn us?

Here is your fatal error. You have failed to hold justification by faith in distinction from sanctification by obedience. You blend the two together implying NOT OBEDIENCE = NOT JUSTIFIED. This is the negative inference fallacy that is typically used with Mark 16:16.

Justification is a permanent event. It is described with the word IMPUTE. Have you done a Bible search on this word? I heartily recommend it. While you are at it, try a search for "impart" or "infuse." Justification is unconditional. To prove otherwise, show me a basic contract clause that we humans can break to nullify the covenant.

Sanctification depends on justification. Obedience comes here and here alone. Sanctification is conditional. But even this is a polite and biased description. We have God's indwelling Spirit but nevertheless consistently resort to the urges of the flesh.

Through all this, our position as God's children does not change. Neither is this position in doubt.

Justification is in parallel with - yet distinct from - sanctification. Any other way denies the gospel.

Lloyd