1.Grace is but glory begun, and glory is but grace perfected. Jonathan Edwards Articulating the gospel one word at a time odnimslovom.org | 2012

2. In the New Testament, grace is a word of central importance the keyword, in fact, of Christianity. The thought of grace is the key that unlocks the New Testament; and it is the only key that does so. However well we may know the New Testament, we cannot get inside its meaning till we know something of what grace is.J.I.Packer http://www.fbccs.org/resources/papers/grace.asp 3. Grace is the lens through which all Scripture can be properly understood. Loveis the lens through which all Scripture can be properly put into practice. 4. Grace is the last message of the Bible. Grace is the last message of Pauls letters. A count of the word grace demonstrates that it is amajor New Testament theme. Here is the top 10 list: Romans (18)Note: Romans is the book of grace.2 Corinthians (11)Acts (11)Ephesians (8)1 Peter (7)Galatians (7)Hebrews (5)1 Corinthians (4)2 Timothy (4)Colossians (4) 5. Inthe New Testament the word grace is always a translation of (charis), primarily signifying the unmerited operation of God in the heart of people through the Spirit. Charis does not exist in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament the word gracious is used (chen) to denote beauty, favor or good-will. http://www.bible-researcher.com/grace.html 6. Often last words are profound. Typically they aresignificant. Sometimes they are inspiring.Sometimes they are just plain odd. Good bye. If we meet-Who: Mark Twain (Note: Spoken to his daughterClara.) Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow.Who: Steve Jobs, Apple CEO (His last statementrecorded by his sister on his death bed.) http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Last_words 7. Thegrace of the Lord Jesus be with Gods people. Amen. Revelations 22:21 8. 2 Corinthians 13:14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love ofGod, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Galatians 6:18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with yourspirit, brothers. Amen. Ephesians 6:24 Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undyinglove. Philippians 4:23 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.Amen. Colossians 4:18 I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember mychains. Grace be with you. 1 Thessalonians 5:28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. 2 Thessalonians 3:18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. 1 Timothy 6:20 Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turnaway from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely calledknowledge, 21 which some have professed and in so doing have wanderedfrom the faith. Grace be with you. 2 Timothy 4:22 The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you. Titus 3:15 Everyone with me sends you greetings. Greet those who love usin the faith. Grace be with you all. Philemon 1:25 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Hebrews 13:25 Grace be with you all. (The Hebrews author is uncertain) 9. Romans 1:5 Through him and for hisnames sake, we received grace andapostleship to call people from amongall the Gentiles to the obedience thatcomes from faith. Romans 1:7 To all in Rome who areloved by God and called to be saints:Grace and peace to you from God ourFather and from the Lord Jesus Christ. 10. The first lesson in the grace of God, fromRomans, the book of grace, is that grace is linkedtogether with apostleship and with peace. Wecannot separate grace from our Christianduty, nor can we do our Christian duty withoutgrace. The grace of God is not divisive orcontentious, but fully linked together with thepeace of God. We needgrace and apostleship, grace and peace. Theseare not opposite concepts. 11. Romans next mentions grace in 3:24, after a discourse on the wrathand judgment of our righteous God in chapters 1 and 2. Romans 3:21-26 21 But now apart from the law the righteousness ofGod has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophetstestify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ toall who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all arejustified freely by his grace through the redemption that came byChrist Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice ofatonement, through the shedding of his bloodto be received byfaith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in hisforbearance he had left the sins committed beforehandunpunished 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at thepresent time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those whohave faith in Jesus. 12. The Jew did not wish to be judged according to his works, but onlyaccording to his parentage. We are the children of Abraham wastheir cry. Their possession of the Law was proof to the Jews of theirfavored status. The fact that the Gentiles did not possess the Lawwas evidence of their rejection. While the possession of the Law wasvitally important to them, the practice of the Law was quite anothermatter. Therefore, there were few legalists among the Jewsthosewho believed that by keeping the Law, without failure, they couldmerit Gods blessings. There were many, however, who felt thatbeing a descendant of Abraham was their ticket to heaven, all theyneeded for Gods blessings.http://bible.org/seriespage/righteousness-it%E2%80%99s-not-what-you-know-or-who-you-are-romans-11-326 13. As one person put it, The argument of the Book of Romans is notthe development of one single idea; it is more like a musicalcomposition, in that it is the development of a number of themes, allintertwined. (source) Romans 4:16-17 16 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that itmay be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abrahamsoffspringnot only to those who are of the law but also to those whoare of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. 17 As it iswritten: I have made you a father of many nations.[c] He is ourfather in the sight of God, in whom he believedthe God who giveslife to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were. 14. The promise given to Abraham has several facets. The promise hadpersonal, national and historical significance (Genesis 12:1-3).Primarily, God promised to make Abraham a father of many nations.This promise was Gods grace to Abraham and his wife Sarah. Thepromise reveals Gods desire to build a new nation a nation builton grace. Romans 4:17 explains the grace of God in two all-critical ways: Godgives life to the dead and God calls things that are not as thoughthey were. I believe that an understanding of grace in these twoways is critical to the sanity and happiness of our life. We need tounderstand Gods grace to give life and to give identity through hispromise which comes by faith. 15. Romans 5:1-2 1 Therefore, since we have been justified throughfaith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace inwhich we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory ofGod. The past, foundational grace of Jesus death on the cross justifies ourfaith for Gods grace to be given today. Believers stand daily on the grace of God, rejoicing in the futurehope of the glory of God, not in our glory. Access is a one-way path: grace flows from God to believers. Nevercan we live todays life on yesterdays grace. Our good deeds todaycan never add to Gods infinite store of grace. Each day we seekmore of Gods grace newly. 16. The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sinincreased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned indeath, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternallife through Jesus Christ our Lord.Romans 5:20-21 Romans 5 begins and ends with two infinite realities that are needed toexplain each other and help us sense the magnitude of Gods way ofsalvation. The chapter ends in verse 21 with the infinite reality of eternallife: So that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign throughrighteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Gods aim inthe work of redemption is the triumph of grace over sin and death untoeternal life through Jesus Christ. The eternal refers to life that neverends. It is infinite life. Life of infinite duration.John Piperhttp://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/the-triumph-of-grace-through-righteousness 17. After speaking so highly of grace, Paul in Romans 6 immediatelyqualifies that grace. The grace of God does not lead to sinning anyway we want. Romans 6:1-4 1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning sothat grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how canwe live in it any longer? 3 Or dont you know that all of us who werebaptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We weretherefore buried with him through baptism into death in orderthat, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of theFather, we too may live a new life. 18. Grace is not a license for immorality (Jude 1:4). Grace is far morepowerful than sin. Where sin once reigned, grace now reigns in itsplace. Grace is sufficient to enable and empower me to live a newlife! Sin was my master. Now sin has no power over me because ofgrace. Romans 6:12-15 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortalbody so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer the parts ofyour body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offeryourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death tolife; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments ofrighteousness. 14 For sin shall not be your master, because you arenot under law, but under grace. 15 What then? Shall we sin becausewe are not under law but under grace? By no means! 19. Romans chapter 7 through 10 continue to expound on multiplethemes like a Mozart symphony. The word grace next appears inchapter 11. Romans 11:1-6 1 I ask then: Did God reject his people? By nomeans! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from thetribe of Benjamin. 2 God did not reject his people, whom heforeknew. Dont you know what the Scripture says in the passageabout Elijahhow he appealed to God against Israel: 3 Lord, theyhave killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the onlyone left, and they are trying to kill me? 4 And what was Godsanswer to him? I have reserved for myself seven thousand whohave not bowed the knee to Baal. 5 So too, at the present time thereis a remnant chosen by grace. 6 And if by grace, then it is no longerby works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace. 20. Elijah worked hard for the Lord. Yet all his hard work only led todepression, and failure to see Gods chosen remnant of 7,000. WhenI lived by works, I came to the point, like Elijah, where I thought Iwas the only one left, the only one who really worked for the Lord.When I let the flood of grace enter my heart, mind and soul, I sawGods chosen remnant. I contend that Christians must be reminded daily of the correctorder of grace and works in Scripture. Grace always produces goodworks, never the other way around. Ephesians 2:8-10 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, throughfaith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- 9 not byworks, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are Gods workmanship,created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared inadvance for us to do. 21. Who is worthy? None beside Thee. The mountains shakebefore Him, the demons run and flee, at the mention ofHis name, King of Majesty! There is no power in hell or any who can stand beforethe power and the presence of the great I AM. The powerof the I AM is not for a select few super apostles. Thatsame power from the same God in Ephesians isavailable to every believer in Jesus. Worship Song:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWbEpiZ8IMs&feature=related 22. How do I view myself? Some say, Be a wounded soldier. Others say, Be anoble man. Some say, Be a strong man. Others say, Be kind and mindyour own business. What does grace say? Grace is not conformance to a set of ideas, but Godstransformation process in human hearts, minds and souls. Grace producesgood works, but good works do not produce grace. This is the only truththat invokes a willingness to suffer and die. Romans 12:1-3 1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of Gods mercy, tooffer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to Godthis is yourspiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of thisworld, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will beable to test and approve what Gods will ishis good, pleasing and perfectwill. 3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think ofyourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with soberjudgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. 23. Romans 12:4-8 4 Just as each of us has one body with manymembers, and these members do not all have the same function, 5so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each memberbelongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to thegrace given us. If a mans gift is prophesying, let him use it inproportion to his faith. 7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it isteaching, let him teach; 8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if itis contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it isleadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let himdo it cheerfully. 24. Differences. Wouldnt it be so great if we didnt have anydifferences? How peaceful the world would be if everyone wouldjust think and act my way? Isnt that how we think? The reality ishumanity is full of differences; its in our DNA. In fact, the fabric oflife would be extremely dull without differences. So why do we fightso hard to find unity by removing differences? Why do we think wewill find peace when we drive away people who think differently? The grace of God opens the way to unity, not by removingdifferences, but by putting our differences to use. Just as one bodyhas many parts, the body of Christ has many people who do not allhave the same function. We have different gifts, according to thegrace given us. 25. Romans 15:14-16 14 I myself am convinced, mybrothers, that you yourselves are full ofgoodness, complete in knowledge and competent toinstruct one another. 15 I have written you quite boldlyon some points, as if to remind you of themagain, because of the grace God gave me 16 to be aminister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestlyduty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that theGentiles might become an offering acceptable toGod, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. May we remember the bold, beautiful, God-pleasingeffect of the grace of God. 26. Grace. What image comes to mind? Beauty? Charm? Elegance?Gentleness? What about boldness? Courage? Certainly grace is all those things, including boldness andcourage. In the book of Romans, Apostle Paul wrote boldly.Throughout his mission journeys, he acted boldly, risking hishealth and life to minister the gospel in the Gentile world. Why?Because of the grace God gave him. When we hear bold words or see bold actions, we need to becareful not to quickly dismiss them as graceless. And when wesee someones charm or elegance, we should see beyond thesurface and find out whether Gods grace produced such charm ornot. 27. Grace is last mentioned in Romans in the last chapter. Romans 16:19-20 19 Everyone has heard about yourobedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wiseabout what is good, and innocent about what is evil. 20 The God ofpeace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our LordJesus be with you. Accepting Gods grace is not just for our initial meeting with Jesus;it is for our entire life. To know Gods grace means we let God beGod. Our job is not to crush Satan. Let God crush Satan. God is not our co-pilot. God wants to be our pilot. Our job isnot to crush anyone, even Satan. Our job is to live by faith inGods grace. 28. Apostleship and Peace Justified Freely By Faith and by Grace Access by Faith Grace Reigns Power over sin No Longer By Works God is the great I AM (worship interlude) Sober Transformation Different Gifts of Grace Bold Words, Bold Actions God crushes, we have Grace 29. Thegrace of the Lord Jesus be with Gods people. Amen. Revelations 22:21