Trust the Way of Grace (Full Sermon)

For believers, the path to a life of moral excellence and spiritual vitality requires embracing the way of grace, not the way of condemnation or self-effort.

The Radical Shift: From Law to Grace

The Christian dispensation operates under the present truth of grace, moving away from the pattern and dictates of the Old Testament Law. The distinction between the Law and Grace is profound, symbolized by two mountains:

1. Mount Sinai (The Law)

The covenant of the Law was given to Israel on the day of Pentecost, resulting in demands and judgment.

• The Law demands perfection from sinful, bankrupt men.
• The Law leads to death; when the Law was given at Mount Sinai, 3,000 people died. The apostle Paul states that the letter (the Law) kills.
• The Law is common sense: “Do good, get good; do bad, get bad”.
• The first miracle associated with the Law (Moses turning water into blood) was a miracle of judgment and resulted in death.

2. Mount Zion (Grace)

The dispensation of Grace is where believers currently reside, allowing access to the Throne of Grace.

• Grace supplies what the Law demands. For instance, while the Law commands “Thou shall not commit adultery,” the Spirit supplies the love for one’s spouse, which provides restraint.
• Grace leads to life; when the Spirit was given on Mount Zion, 3,000 people were saved. The Spirit gives life.
• Grace is paradoxical: you can receive good you do not deserve because another (Jesus Christ) received all the bad we deserved. This requires the Holy Spirit to understand, unlike the common sense of the Law.
• The first miracle of Jesus (turning water into wine) resulted in joy, celebration, and life.

Ministers of the New Covenant are called to preach from the throne of grace and the holy of holies, rather than the judgment seat or the pulpit of Mount Sinai.

The Gift of Righteousness: Justification by Faith Alone

The central tenant of grace is that justification (being declared righteous) is received entirely by faith, independent of human effort or adherence to the Law.

Understanding Righteousness

Righteousness is provided as a gift, not a reward or wage.

• Wages vs. Grace: If a person works for something, the resulting payment is a wage, not grace (unearned, undeserved favor). God’s provision of righteousness is purely grace.
• The Devil’s Fear: The devil is particularly afraid of believers receiving the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness.
• Justifying the Ungodly: God is holy, but He justifies, or makes righteous, the ungodly (those who do not work but believe in Him). This is only possible because of the righteous basis established by the cross of Jesus Christ.

Abraham’s Example

Abraham was not justified by his works; he was justified because he believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. This saving faith occurred many years before he offered Isaac on the altar.

If a person were justified by works, they would have reason to boast, but not before God. The works of self-righteousness we do are considered as filthy rags before God (the Hebrew word specifically refers to a sanitary napkin).

Pursuing Righteousness

Those who pursue righteousness through the law of righteousness (like the covenant people, Israel) fail to attain it because they did not seek it by faith. Conversely, Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness attained it, specifically the righteousness of faith.

The stumbling stone that causes people to fail is Jesus as our righteousness (Jehovah Tsidkenu); people stumble because they cannot believe righteousness can be received without their works.

The Finished Work of the Cross and Double Jeopardy

The foundation of grace is the finished work of Jesus on the cross, which provided the necessary righteous basis for God to justify the ungodly.

The Transaction

• The Father’s Love: God provided His own Son, the son that He loved, to die for us. This was the culmination of a covenant originally cut with Abraham, where God Himself walked through the divided pieces on Abraham’s behalf, ensuring that if the covenant were broken, God (in the person of Christ) would pay the price.
• Bearing All Sin: On the cross, Jesus bore all sins—past, present, and future—because the transaction occurred outside of time. He absorbed all the judgment of a holy God for those sins.
• “Finished”: When Jesus cried “Finished” (at 3:00 p.m., the time of the evening sacrifice, contrasting with Elijah’s challenge at Mount Carmel), the judgment prescribed in the Old Testament was fully consumed by the sacrifice (Jesus).

No Condemnation

Because Jesus absorbed all judgment, God cannot justly judge the believer for those same sins. This is known as the Law of Double Jeopardy—the same crime cannot be tried twice.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. This freedom from condemnation does not lead to a desire to sin more, but instead makes the believer want to love Him more.

The Role of Works: Fruit vs. Effort

While salvation is achieved by faith alone, works are still important in the life of a believer. However, there is a strict difference between effort-based works and spirit-produced fruit.

• Dead Works: Works done out of self-effort or striving for justification are “dead works”. They are built upon “wood, hay, and straw”.
• Life Works: Good works are those done by the leading of the Lord and are born out of life. They are the result of building upon the foundation of Christ with “gold, silver, precious stones”.

Right Believing Produces Right Living

Moral excellence and self-control are not achieved through willpower or continuous efforts to follow definitions or ways to obtain them. Instead:

• Moral excellence is a fruit produced in and through the believer by the Spirit.
• Right believing (believing the gospel of grace) will spontaneously produce right living.

The distinction is works are the result of effort, while fruit is the result of life.

Justification Before Men

When James discusses “faith without works is dead,” he is speaking of justification before men. Men cannot see internal faith, but they can see the resulting works.

• Patience is Key: Just as Abraham’s great work (offering Isaac) came more than 20 years after his justification by faith, the visible “fruit” in a believer’s life may take time to grow. Believers must be patient and allow for growth.
• Rahab’s Example: Rahab the harlot was justified by works when she received and hid the messengers. This work, though involving a lie, was an act of faith and occurred many years after she first believed in God’s power.