Grace! Grace!

"Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it." (Zechariah 4: 6, 7)

What is "grace" and why do the scriptures constantly ascribe the whole of salvation to Jehovah's "grace"?

The above prophecy of Zechariah concerned the rebuilding of Jerusalem and of Jehovah's temple or house. It was initially fulfilled when Nehemiah, Ezra, and others of the returning captives from Babylon, began to rebuild Jerusalem, its walls and gates, and also the house of the Lord.

There was a ceremony held to commemorate the day when actual construction was to begin, much like when men have "ground breaking" ceremonies today for great building projects, often with a silver spade.

In this case, however, the Israelites would commemorate the "setting" of the "chief corner stone," the setting or placing of the first stone in the foundation of the superstructure.

One of the most famous "stone settings" in America was when President George Washington "set the stone" (all in Masonic regalia), the "corner stone," in the capital building in Washington.

Such an event was indeed memorable, and the event has even been made into a portrait. But, unlike the commemorative ceremony of Zechariah, the ceremony of Washington was with "shouts" of deserved and earned victory, the placing of the stone being the result of human blood and sacrifice.

But, the Israelites could not shout "merit," "merit," or "desert," "desert," for their escape and freedom from Bablylonian slavery, like their salvation from Egyptian slavery, was all a result of Jehovah's mercy upon them, and of his power to affect it alone.

Such an event was truly the result of nothing but the grace, mercy, and compassion of Jehovah. This is clear when one knows the history of the Israelites up till this time of the "stone setting."

The prophecy of Zechariah has another greater fulfillment when a sinner comes to Jesus and is made a believer in him. It is at that time that the Father lays a foundation within the renewed soul, and begins to build upon it, and this foundation is Christ (I Corinthians 3: 11 KJV), and when he is firmly grounded in the heart of the sinner, all shout "grace! grace!"

He is a member of God's spiritual and heavenly "temple," being a "stone" in it, and he is spiritually placed into that temple when he is placed within Christ. But, his greater placement into the heavenly temple is yet to come, and when it happens, you can be sure there will continue to be shouts of "grace, grace" unto Christ the Lamb and "chief corner stone"!

"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." (John 1: 14-17)

Without Christ there would be no grace shown to sinners. God's broken law must be upheld. Justice must be executed. So, how can God "clear" or "justify" the guilty and yet at the same time not do injustice to his law, or how can he be both "just and the justifier of him who believes in Jesus"? (Romans 3: 26 KJV)

Grace is given and bestowed upon hell-deserving sinners soley "for Christ's sake." Those who receive grace are wholly undeserving, the grace they receive in time being that which Lord God determined to bestow in eternity past, in his eternal decrees respecting individual salvation.

"Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." (II Timothy 1: 9 KJV)

Thus, from beginning to end, salvation is all of grace, and all "to the praise of the glory of his grace" (Ephesians 1: 6) It is a repeated theme throughout scripture, especially in the New Testament, that sinners are saved by grace alone.

Said Paul - "by grace ye are saved" (Ephesians 2: 5) And then again, he says:

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God." (Verse 8)

"In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace" (chpt. 1 - verse 7).

Grace simply means that something is unmerited and undeserved and is not something a man earns or obtains by work. Grace and the word "free" go together. Grace is free. Paul defined grace in these words:

"So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace." (Romans 11: 5, 6 NIV)

"I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." (Galatians 2: 21 KJV)

Salvation by works or by law keeping will not save a man. No man is able to keep the whole law, for "he who offends in one point is guilty of the whole," wrote James. (See James 2: 10 KJV)

Being "in sin" (like being "in debt"), a man is an "unbeliever," and "whatever is not of faith is sin" (Romans 14: 23 KJV), and "without faith it is impossible to please God" (Hebrews 11: 6 KJV). He is totally shut up to the mercy and grace of God alone.

"And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all." (Acts 4: 33)

"Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands." (Acts 14: 3)

Mighty and amazing grace! Where there is grace there is not only freedom but power. The grace of God bestowed is an "enabler," giving power to the soul to do what it could not do before, and empowering the sinner to spiritually "get up and walk." God's grace has it's great attendant blessings and powers.

"...the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God." (Acts 20: 24)

Every true gospel minister preaches salvation by the grace of God and not by works or merit. Every truly born again Christian credits no other one, no other power, but the Lord and his Christ. No truly saved man boasts that he has saved himself, and that salvation has been rewarded to him based upon his works and efforts.

According to Paul, every believer is one who has been "elected (to salvation) by grace," there being nothing in the one chosen moving God to choose him. If the choice was based upon some good deed of the sinner, then it would not be purely gracious.

"But we believe that through the grace of the LORD Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they." (Acts 15: 11)

And so, it being all of grace, we say further:

"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." (Titus 3: 5-7 KJV)

To teach that men are "saved by works of righteousness" which they do is to "frustrate the grace of God," as Paul said. It is to make the death of Christ a useless act, wholly unneccessary! But, such can never be!

"And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace." (Acts 18: 27)

Do men believe in order to obtain grace, or must they first receive grace to believe? Paul, in Romans, says "therefore it is of faith that it might be by grace" (Romans 4: 16 KJV) but the writer here seems to reverse the order, saying basically - "therefore it is of grace that it might be by faith." Actually, both are correct. But, remember that Paul said earlier that faith itself was God's gracious gift.

"Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt." (Romans 4: 4)

This is what Paul has stated in more than one place. Why does Paul often tell us how men are NOT saved? Is that necessary? Why? Is the simple statement of how men ARE saved not sufficient? Why the need for stating the negative, and then so often? Is it not because men are so apt to err on this point and think the God saves people because they are good, and because they have earned his favor and blessing?

"Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." (Romans 3: 24)

"By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." (Romans 5: 2)

"But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many." (Romans 5: 15)

"Grace, grace" is certainly being shouted by Paul, shouted throughout his preaching and throughout his writings. So too all the evangelists in the New Testament. All of them constantly ascribed the whole of salvation to God's grace in Christ.

"But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain." (I Corinthians 15: 10)

We can credit nothing else! We cannot credit ourselves in the least. Everything good about us is the result of his divine working in us! We have no room to boast, not in the least!

"What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid." (Romans 6: 15)

That is the big debate question among bible students! If a man is saved by grace, and his works do not count, then he might as well just sin and not worry about the consequences! But, such is the thinking of the carnal mind. It is blinded reasoning because it fails to understand the power of God's grace and its effect on the heart of man, and how it makes him hate his former sins, and to love Christ and righteousness, and cannot therefore "live in sin" as before.

"Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace..." (II Thessalonians 2: 16)

"Good hope through grace"! To hope in something other than in God's grace is to have a "bad hope," a "vain" and "useless" hope. Those who trust in God's grace truly have a good reason to hope!

"My grace is sufficient for thee." (II Corinthians 12: 9)

We can rely upon God's grace. Our standing with him does not depend, from hour to hour, upon us, upon our own self created worth, but upon our worth in Christ, and upon God's great and marvelous grace. God's grace is not insufficient, lacking something. We do not need God's grace plus something else, but God's grace plus nothing.

"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you." (I Corinthians 16: 23)