Preaching the Grace of God
A brother made the following comment: “Grace
is one subject one hears very little about in conservative Churches of Christ
except it be prefaced by a stern warning of what grace is not.”
I wonder if that statement has been true of my preaching. I personally know it has not, but could someone
perceive that of me? I suppose someone
could perceive that I do not preach enough about the grace of God, but let us
think clearly and fairly about our perception.
It seems to me that Paul taught both about what grace is AND what it is
not. Romans 1-2 is why we need grace (we
have all sinned), Romans 3-5 is about what grace provides for the remedy of
sin, and Romans 6 is about what it is NOT. It is not license to sin. When a
majority around us pervert the grace of God and talk as if it is “unconditional”,
then a good minister will evaluate what needs to be said. I judge that we need to both understand what
it is and what it is not. Paul made that same judgment. Jude felt a need to point out that some “turned
the grace of God into licentiousness (license to sin)”(Jude 5). He felt a need to declare what grace is NOT.
But, let us consider something else about preaching the
grace of God. There are broad topics
within the preaching of grace. Notice
what Paul says that GRACE teaches:
Titus 2:11-15
For the grace of God
that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying
ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly
in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of
our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave Himself for us, that He
might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special
people, zealous for good works.
15 Speak these things,
exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you. NKJV
Notice that when preachers are teaching you to “deny
ungodliness”, they are preaching the true grace of God. So, don’t dismiss his teaching as not enough
about the specific topic of the nature of God’s love. He is only teaching you
to deny ungodliness because that is part of preaching true grace. When some of the sermons center on denying “worldly
lusts”, you need to remember that this is what GRACE teaches. When a preacher is preaching about “living
soberly” and making good judgments, he is preaching GRACE. When he tells you what the New Testament
teaches about morals and righteous principles of living for Christ, he is
preaching true GRACE. When he is
preaching that you should avoid “every lawless deed” he is preaching true
GRACE. Would you look at the nature and
content of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians and accuse him of not preaching
enough about GRACE? Wouldn’t that be a
bit unfair?
When we preach God’s word, we are preaching true GRACE. Now, like each of the books and letters of
the New Testament, we will mention a variety of things. We will cover the love of God and the mercy
of God, and we will illustrate it like Jesus did in the parable of the prodigal
son. We will also preach the kingdom,
because that is where grace is enjoyed. We will preach the kingdom and church
of Christ, because that is where grace is enjoyed, and that too was illustrated
in much of the teaching of Jesus and His apostles.
When we examine Jesus’ teaching, it was not all about the
gracious nature of God SPECIFICALLY, but it was all part of the grace of God
generally. Would it be fair to examine
Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and charge that Jesus did not preach enough about
the grace of God specifically? Examine Peter’s sermon on Pentecost. Would it be fair to charge that Peter did not
preach enough about the gracious nature of God’s grace SPECIFICALLY? Yet, the entire sermon with the opportunity
to call on the Lord and be saved, was all generally part of preaching true
grace. When we preach against any and
all error, we are basically exhorting the brethren to “continue in His grace”
and not get side-tracked away from true grace.
We should and do preach about what Jesus did for us on the
cross, and we should and do preach about the gracious nature of God, but we
should know enough to recognize that our range of topics should be as broad as
the topics found in the New Testament or against any topic that competes with
or challenges the truths of the New Testament (2 Cor.10:3-5). Part of preaching grace is to preach the
truth about how to enter His grace and how to continue in His grace.
Paul wrote a whole book on law versus grace through faith
(Galatians). Would it be fair to judge
that he did not write enough to the Galatians about the specific topic of God’s
amazing love? Was he spending too much
time telling what grace was not? It was
not adding the Law of Moses or circumcision to the liberty given in
Christ. Did Paul say too many negative
things in this book? Some at Corinth
charged him with preaching too much in a rebuking manner. Well, sometimes that is what brethren need in
order to get back on track with the grace of God.
Acts 11:23-24
23 When he came and
had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with
purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord. NKJV
What did Paul see? He
saw how people had repented and had entered Christ, were joyful about their blessings in Christ,
and were continuing in the activity that faith in Jesus demanded.
Acts 13:43
43 Now when the
congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed
Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of
God. NKJV
What would it take to “continue in the grace of God”? It would be “continuing steadfastly in the
apostles’ doctrine, in fellowship, in breaking of bread, and in prayers”(Acts
2:42). What the 3,000 brethren were
doing by “continuing in the apostle’s doctrine” was the very same thing as “continuing
in the grace of God”.
Acts 14:22
22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them
to continue in the faith, and saying, "We must through many tribulations
enter the kingdom of God." NKJV
Continuing in the faith (that body of teaching expressed in
the New Testament) is the same thing as continuing in His grace. Teaching brethren to be faithful and true to
the “faith once delivered” to the saints, is teaching grace and how to continue
in it. Would it be fair to say that Jude wasted a letter and did not say enough,
specifically, about the positive nature of God’s gracious nature? Did he spend too much time warning about
apostasy? When we think fairly and
soberly, we would have to check ourselves before we accused gospel preachers of
not preaching enough about a certain topic.
It may be that we were not paying close attention. It may also be that we have a distorted view
of how much time should be spent on one topic as opposed to another. It may also be that the time we were not
present, or the times we were not paying attention was when those topics were
indeed preached on. But, anytime a man
preaches the kingdom, the parables of Jesus, the books of the New Testament, we
do not skip over the grace of God. We are teaching and preaching it. Sometimes a church needs a series of topics
like Paul delivered in his first letter to Corinth. Brethren, that IS preaching the grace of
God. Be fair in your assessment.
Col 1:22-23
23 if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are
not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached
to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister. NKJV
1 Tim 4:15-16
15 Meditate on these
things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to
all. 16 Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in
doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you. NKJV
Can we read the two letters to Timothy and get the idea that
he should only preach about the God’s gracious nature? Can we save people if we do not defend the
truth on all fronts of attack? Timothy
will be preaching the saving truth if he defends it against those trying to
bind the Law of Moses on Christians. If
brethren start trying to make Genealogies after Jesus came to have some
importance, Timothy can defend true grace against such talk. Preaching grace is much broader than simply
dwelling on the gracious nature of God.
It is preaching “the whole counsel of God”. It is preaching a wide range
of topics like we find in 1 Corinthians.
I do not believe that I have neglected the grace of God. I
do not believe that there is another preacher who appreciates the grace of God
more than I do. I don’t believe that
such preachers as make comments like the above opening comment have a better
grasp of the topic or understand it better.
I think many who make such comments are not thinking correctly about the
topic specifically and generically. I am
not saying that we all do not have room to grow in the grace and knowledge of
Jesus Christ, but I am saying that the opening comment of the brother is not
true of my experience in conservative churches of Christ in general or of my
preaching specifically. I would think
that the comment is indicative of someone who is simply not satisfied with his
own experience and who has surmised that it was the fault of others who were
preaching rather than problems with his own perceptions due to his own
spiritual problems and lack of personal study. At any rate, let us be sure we
understand and appreciate the nature of God and His amazing grace, while
realizing that there is far more to preaching the true grace of God than merely
dwelling on that specific aspect of it to the neglect of what grace teaches and
demands. Let us be careful to enjoy and
preach the whole counsel of God.
Terry W. Benton
