Grace and Peace

Introduction: The Setting and Significance of Paul's Salutation

0:06 I want you to turn with me to the first letter of Paul to the church at Thessalonica, 1 Thessalonians, as we continue our studies in this particular book of God's holy word.

0:25 1 Thessalonians, chapter 1.

0:29 Just briefly to remind you of the setting of this letter, which in many ways is the key which opens its meaning to us, the Apostle Paul had been the instrument under God along with several of his companions in founding this assembly of believers at Thessalonica, and having had to leave on the heels of a riot and great pressure from the civil authorities, it's always amazed me how modern evangelists who claim to be Pauline in doctrine are so different in the Pauline methodology and the effect of their ministry. It's considered quite a compliment now when the evangelist comes to town if the minister...

1:08 The mayor presents him a key to the city. The only key Paul ever saw was the key to the jail, and that was in the hands of the jailer when he turned it on him and said, Now you've had it till we bring you out. And so this is what happened in this situation. Paul left town amidst much persecution and left behind this infant church and had great concern because of the persecution that raged in the direction of that church.

1:32 And when he sends Timothy to find out how they're doing, and Timothy comes back with this word that they're faring well, amidst persecution and in spite of their relative immaturity in the faith, Paul then sitting down with a heart filled with joy and with pastoral concern, pens this letter in which he's going to express something of this joy and something of the concern which was the result of Timothy's report. We've looked at the senders of the letter in verse 1 of chapter 1, Paul and Silvanus or Silas and Timotheus or Timothy, and we saw, that in each case a different facet of the grace of God is revealed in these who are the senders of the letter.

2:16 Last week we considered the receivers of the letter unto the church of the Thessalonians, which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ. We tried to bring into focus the distinct meaning of the word church. It's used sometimes of the great body of the redeemed of all ages, the church universal, other times and most times in the New Testament. It refers to a distinct body of believers gathered in a given geographical area, in this case called the church of the Thessalonians, and the distinct position of the church is that it's in union with God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

2:59 It isn't just a religious society that adopts a doctrinal statement and then adopts a constitution and takes offerings and builds a church. It's a church that adopts a doctrine and then adopts a constitution and takes offerings and builds a church. It's a church that builds buildings and sends missionaries. No, you can have all of this and not have a church.

3:13 But a church in the truest sense is the gathering together of people who've been brought into vital union with God the Father and with the Lord Jesus Christ. Now this morning we're going to conclude our studies in verse 1 as we consider the apostolic salutation. Having mentioned who is sending the letter, and having described those to whom the letter is sent, now the first formal words addressed to this group of people at Thessalonica called the church by Paul and Silas and Timothy, the first formal words are these.

The Apostolic Salutation: Grace and Peace

3:54 Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

4:05 Here is the normal apostolic benediction, although we usually think of a benediction coming at the end. A benediction is simply a pronouncement of blessing. And when the apostles would send their letters, this is the way they would greet the different churches. About 15 times you'll find this formula appearing in the New Testament letters.

4:27 Three times you have the word mercy added. In 1 and 2 Timothy and in Titus, Paul not only says grace and peace, but he says grace, mercy and peace. And as those are the pastoral epistles, I have a little, a little theory as to why he added mercy. Maybe pastors need a little bit extra mercy and grace, so we have another word in there.

4:46 He says not only grace and peace, but he says grace, mercy and peace. But most of the times, the way it appears is in this form. Grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, why is this found at so many, at the introduction, so many letters?

5:06 It was common to introduce letters in that day with synonyms. Some sort of a greeting. The Hebrew concept would be basically to say peace, and the Greek concept would be simply to address, to introduce the letter by saying grace. But notice something here.

5:24 Paul could have reacted and said, well, this business of introducing a letter and saying grace to you and peace is just a meaningless custom of the age, and we Christians are not to be conformed to the age, so let's just chuck it over and forget it. No. What he did was, taking the normal way that you'd introduce, introduce a letter in that day. Paul captures that perfectly innocent custom and by the Holy Spirit, elevates it to a meaning far transcending anything that people in the secular world would ever know.

5:55 And this is a wonderful principle. God does not want us to despise the thought patterns and the social customs of our society that are not sinful in themselves and say, oh well, we're not to take any standards from the world. I've met some Christians who thought it was sub-Christian, to be polite. They said, well, who set those standards of politeness?

6:16 Who said you've got to eat your food this way? And so they'd just become rather coarse and crude. And they thought it was unspiritual to be courteous, to be gentlemanly, to accept the society's standards of what is right and wrong in terms of social graces. No.

6:33 By the very fact that Paul uses the general form that the world being used in sending his letter is an indication, that there can be a conformity without accommodating oneself in a sinful way to the standards of our society. And so Paul takes this normal way of greeting and he adopts it to his own end and elevates it to a height which the world would never know. Now so much then for the fact that this is the standard salutation. Now let us focus upon this very vital issue.

7:10 What is the meaning of these words? When Paul said, Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, was he just putting together a few nice sounding words to sort of break the ice till he could get to the real heart of what he had to say, we give thanks to God always for you, making mention of you in our prayers, etc. No. These words are filled with meaning.

7:35 In fact, I doubt if any of us has begun to even scratch the surface of the tremendous body of truth that is bound up in the two little words, grace and peace. And as we study them this morning, I hope this will be a key that will unlock the meaning of these words in some measure so that wherever we face those words and whenever we read through some of these letters and we see the greetings given, grace and peace, we'll not just hurry over that as something meaningless, sort of a necessary evil, a social nicety, and now let's get to the real meat of it. No. We ought to pause and meditate each time we face those words, grace and peace, for they are full of meaning.

The Meaning of Grace: Undeserved Kindness

8:20 It's interesting, isn't it, that the first word formally addressed to the church at Thessalonica is the word grace. Paul had said, now we're the ones sending the letters, Paul, Silvanus, and Timotheus, and we're sending it to the church at Thessalonica, but he hasn't yet said anything to them. And the first word that he says to them is this, grace. Grace.

8:44 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. And I think this is significant. It's as though the Holy Spirit is summarizing in one word why there was a church at Thessalonica. For there would have been no church at Thessalonica had there not been a God of grace who out of His infinite grace had concern for a rebel race, sent His Son in grace, sent the message in His grace, by the power of God, by the power of the Spirit through grace, had awakened and converted and drawn to Himself a body of people.

9:19 The very fact that there was a church at Thessalonica has only one explanation, grace. And so the first word that he confronts them with is this word, grace. Now what does the word itself mean? Well, it's used in different ways in the New Testament.

9:35 Sometimes it simply is an expression of thanks. Other times the word speaks of a benefit, a blessing, a gift. But in its richest meaning, and this is the way it's used most often in the New Testament, it means the undeserved kindness of God to those who deserve just the opposite. One of the sort of common definitions of grace is unmerited favor, but that's weak.

10:03 It's the undeserved kindness of God to those who deserve just the opposite. Let me illustrate. Suppose there was a certain kingdom, and in that kingdom, we had two types of individuals, and let's focus them upon two given men. One man loves the king.

10:20 He's very loyal to the king. He's subject to the king. He loves his laws. He loves his ways.

10:25 He's an obedient subject to this kingdom. He does what he's supposed to do whenever the king comes to town. He honors him. He prostrates himself before him.

10:33 He acknowledges his dignity, his throne rights, and all the rest. And one day, this man who's just a peasant in the kingdom receives word that the king is coming to visit him. And when the king comes, he confers upon this man a great amount of wealth, measuring it in terms of American dollars. He gives him the equivalent of a million dollars.

10:53 And you say, what an act of kindness. But you see, that's not grace.

10:59 Because though that man did not deserve it, he certainly was not full of what we would call ill-deserved. He certainly was not filled with an undeserving attitude toward the king. But now picture another man in the same kingdom. He hates the king.

11:16 Every time he sees the king's picture, he wants to spit on it. And he hates the king's laws. He has no respect for the king's person. When the king comes to town and everybody hails the king, he stands there and gives him the Bronx jeer.

11:31 He hates his laws, despises his person, has no respect for his being. And one day the king comes to his house and says, in spite of the way you've treated me, in spite of the way you've acted me, I want to confer such and such a blessing upon you. And then he confers upon this fellow the million dollars. That's grace, you see.

11:56 It's an act of kindness to someone who deserves just the opposite. Now this good man here, good in the relative sense, he doesn't deserve the million dollars, but neither does he deserve the wrath of the king. But this man deserves the king's wrath. This man deserves the king's sword.

12:13 This man deserves the king's judgment and in place of judgment, he gets just the opposite. That's the difference between just kindness, benevolence, and grace. Grace involves the concept of undeserved kindness to those who deserve just the opposite. Grace is an attitude on God's part that proceeds entirely from within himself and is conditioned in no way by anything in the object of his favor.

12:41 Listen to that again. Grace is an attitude on God's part, that proceeds entirely from within himself and is conditioned in no way by anything in the object of his favor. The king might look upon this man and say, well, I admire him for his obedience to my laws, for his respect to my person, and out of regard to those qualities that he has that are pleasing to me, I will give him a million dollars. But when he looks down upon this other fellow, there's nothing in him, that can draw forth such an act.

13:19 For he sees nothing in that man, but that which would draw forth his anger and his wrath. There's nothing in him that could provoke such an act of kindness. So in this case, if ever that act is displayed, it must be all of grace. For grace is something that lies within the heart of God and has no regard whatsoever for any worth in the object upon which that grace is displayed.

Grace as the Mainspring of Salvation from Eternity to Eternity

13:45 And so we might, in a very real sense, say that grace is that attitude and disposition which set in motion the wheels of redemption and which is the mainspring of the entire work of God in saving sinners. For the scripture says, by grace are ye saved, and the whole work of salvation from eternity to eternity is set in motion by grace and is kept in motion by the grace of God. Let's see this spell, as we just take some verses that have the concept of grace in it and see that from eternity to eternity,

14:24 the whole moving driving force in God's salvation is his grace. Now where did salvation begin? Well, you say it began at the cross. No, it didn't.

14:35 It began before then. Salvation began in eternity when God purposed that out of a rebel race of sinners, that would stray from him and turn its back upon him, he would take a people for himself. That's what the Bible means when it uses the term election. Now what is the motivating, driving, pulsing force that moves God to select out of the rebel race of humanity in eternity a people for himself?

15:07 Ah, listen to the scripture. The apostle Paul says in Romans chapter 11, even so now there is, a remnant according to the election of grace. And if it is of grace, Paul says, it is no more of works else grace were not grace. What is it that moves God to choose a people for himself?

15:34 Was it that he looked down as it were the carters of time and saw some who'd be a little more worthy than others? Some who would, like this man, provoke thoughts of kindness, no, no, for God looking down, I say it reverently, for God does not, and say it in figurative language, for God dwells in eternity. He doesn't have past and present and future and the rest, only the eternal present. But for the sake of clarification, God looks down and what does he see?

16:03 Oh, he sees some cultured people, some uncultured, some educated, some uneducated, some moral people outwardly, some immoral. But God sees beneath and through all of that. And what does he see in him? Humanity?

16:16 He sees one lump of lost rebel sinners who deserve his wrath and his judgment. That's what God sees. Now, what is there in that great lump of humanity that's going to move him to choose out of that lump of humanity people who will be the objects of his salvation? Well, there's nothing in them to move him, so the movement must come entirely from the heart of God.

16:41 And so in Romans 11 5 we read, even so now, there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And God is moved by his grace to take the people for himself. That's what Paul meant when he said in 2 Timothy 1 in verse 9, who hath saved us and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and what? Grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.

17:13 By grace, grace are ye saved, and tracing salvation back as far as the Bible lets us trace it into the councils of God's electing purpose in eternity. And what do we find written over the top of those purposes? Grace, grace.

17:31 Ah, but those sinners whom God has purposed to draw for himself, they've broken God's law. The law must be satisfied. There must be a payment for sin. Now, what's going to move God to make that provision?

17:45 Listen to Hebrews 2 9.

17:48 That he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. What moves God to give his son up to death? What moves the son to lay down his life for his sheep? Ah, listen.

18:04 That he by the grace of God. There was nothing in them that moved him. What moved him lay in his own heart. Lay in his own heart.

18:15 Just as surely as the thing that moved him to choose a people lay in his own heart and flowed out of his heart. So that which moved him to give his son and move the son to lay down his life. That he by the grace of God, the undeserved kindness of God to those who deserve just the opposite.

18:36 And then as God is pleased to call his people to himself, what moves them to call him? What moves him to call them? Is it that he sees some who've got a little glimmer of, of life in them? No.

18:51 Listen to Paul's description of it. Galatians 1 in verse 15. When it pleased God who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by his grace. The call of God by his grace.

19:11 He said that word that subdued my proud pharisaical heart. Showed me my sinfulness and revealed the glory of God. Christ. He said I know that the cause of that can never be found in me.

19:24 That call of God that laid hold of me and subdued me and brought me captive to Christ. It had to proceed solely from the heart of God. So when Paul writes about it to the church at Galatia, he says he called me by his grace. And when he calls men, the scripture says in Romans 8, those whom he calls, he justifies.

19:46 Well, what moves God to justify sinners? To be called? To declare that guilty men are no longer guilty through the merits of Christ? Well, listen.

19:55 Paul tells us in Romans 3, 24 that we being justified by his grace. By his grace. Our justification is only by his grace. It's only grace that would ever declare to the likes of you and me, son, thy sins be forgiven thee.

20:18 As far as the east is from the east, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. And then the scripture reveals that those whom God has laid his hand upon, those for whom Christ has shed his blood, and those who are called and justified, they become a holy people. Now, how do they become that way? What's the moving power that makes them holy?

20:40 Listen as I read from 2 Corinthians 1, verse 12. The apostle Paul attributes it to the grace of God. To the grace of God. Our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we've had our manner of living in the world, and more abundantly to you, Lord.

21:10 Paul, how is it that you are able to so live before these people that your life didn't cancel out your lips? That what you did didn't nullify what you said? He said, there's only one explanation, the grace of God. And so we could go right through, I won't take the time this morning, showing that the source of all the virtues that the saints possess is the grace of God.

21:32 All the abilities and gifts they possess, the grace of God, and then the culmination of salvation, when we shall be like him and see him as he is. Peter says in 1 Peter 1.13, he says that we're to look for the grace that is to be brought unto us at the coming, of our Lord Jesus Christ. So there you have the salvation of God from eternity in God's electing purpose, into eternity in the glorification of the saints, and written over the entire spectrum of the work of God is this word, grace.

The God of All Grace and the Gospel of Grace

22:07 So that every true child of God must and delights to confess as did Paul in 1 Corinthians 15.10, I am what I am by the grace, of God. You see, when we begin to understand that, it doesn't surprise us to read statements like this that we find in Ephesians, where Paul says the whole goal of God's work of redemption in Christ is this. Two in verses six and seven of Ephesians, he hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come, he might show the exceeding riches of his grace.

22:52 Unmerited favor and kindness to those who deserve just the opposite. And so the whole goal of redemption is that we might be display cases of grace for from eternity to eternity, that whole salvation is rooted in the grace of God. It's no wonder then that God is called in 1 Peter 5.10, the God of all grace, that the gospel is called in Acts 20.24,

23:19 the gospel of the grace of God. And you know, what the last words of the Bible are?

23:25 I think if I would ask most people that, they would say the last words of the Bible are these, even so come Lord Jesus. But you know, those aren't the last words of the Bible.

23:37 The last words of the Bible, do you know what they are? Don't look now, but do you know what they are? You know what they are? Not even so come Lord Jesus, that's the last prayer.

23:48 Do you know what the last words are? The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. The last words of the Bible, I think those are significant. Are they not?

23:59 The last words the Holy Ghost has put in black and white for his people at ease, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Last words, letting us know that all the glories that were depicted there in the book of the revelation that await the saints of God are their possessions solely by his grace. Now if this is true, and it is, it's obvious that the only people sitting there, in Thessalonica that day, when that letter came, and the elder stood up to read it, graced you in peace. The only person sitting there who could really appreciate it, is the one who had seen himself in need of grace.

The Heart's Response to Grace: Humility and Need

24:42 You see, if you look upon yourself like this first fellow, well I'm not the best guy in the world, but I'm not so bad. I'm as good as other people, and if God would send Christ for me, I think that's a pretty good deal. I don't deserve it, but I'm not quite so bad. You see, the word grace will never happen.

24:58 It will never have meaning. But when you see you're like this other fellow, that you have as it were, kicked at the traces of God's holy law, that you have despised his person, that you've had no regard to the dignity of his being, and you've seen yourself as one who should have received the sword of his judgment into your breast. When you see yourself as the one who should have been an object of his righteous anger and his wrath, and that God has come, and in Christ has chosen you, in Christ has provided for salvation, in Christ through grace has called you, justified you, set you apart, and will glorify you. When you hear the word grace, your heart will leap, for you say, ah, if anyone needs grace,

25:42 I stand as a candidate. Now I ask you, what kind of response does the word grace strike in your heart this morning? Do you see yourself like this fellow? Or do you see yourself like over here?

25:53 You can say, neither. I'm sort of in between. There's no in between.

26:01 The Bible describes us like this. Carnal mind, enmity against God. Paul says we were by nature children of wrath, even as others. By nature, children of wrath.

26:12 We deserve the wrath of God. And when we receive from that God mercy and pardon, the blotting out of our sin, the word grace becomes a precious word to us.

The Meaning of Peace: Tranquility of Soul

26:25 Now the second word, and we've got to look at this very quickly, is the word peace. Grace to you and peace. Now again, this word has many shades of meaning in the New Testament. But in this instance, it's a word that has a very broad, sort of flexible connotation.

26:45 Paul is speaking of favor and prosperity of every kind, but particularly that tranquility of soul,

26:57 of the soul that's assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fears nothing from God, and is content with its earthly lot, whatever, sort it is. He says grace to you and peace. He blesses and wishes that they know the blessing of that favor and prosperity of God in all directions, but particularly that which comes from knowing that I'm right with God, and no matter what rage is about me, all is well. Peace, perfect peace in this dark world of sin.

27:29 The blood of Jesus whispers peace within. Peace, perfect peace, by trials sorely pressed. Then we speak of that peace that is not bounded or affected by circumstances.

27:48 You remember that when our Lord was born, the announcement of the angels was peace on earth to men of goodwill. Romans 5.2, Paul says being justified by faith, we have peace with God. Galatians 5.22,

28:04 the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace. So the gospel is called then what? The gospel of peace in Romans 10.15.

28:14 How beautiful the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace. And the great work of God when he brings men into his kingdom is the impartation of peace. The kingdom of God, Paul says, is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. You see, sin has brought discord.

28:34 When man got out of whack with God, he got out of whack with himself and with his fellow man. Discord. When man became estranged from God, then he became estranged from himself, the maggings of guilt and conscience. And then subsequently became estranged from his fellow man, and there was everything contrary to peace and harmony and concord.

28:56 You see that in the first three chapters of Genesis.

29:00 When God and man were walking in that relationship in which God had made him, there was peace this way, peace within, peace this way. But when sin entered, man is running from God. There's division. There's enmity.

29:17 We find man at warfare with himself in his troubled and disturbed conscience. And we find the first son born of that union rising up and killing his brother. War and bloodshed, the fruit of this terrible severance of relationship with God. And now Paul says, grace to you and peace.

29:40 And peace. He wishes that they shall know ever increasing measure of restored relationship with God,

29:48 of peace within their own breasts, and the peace amongst themselves. And again I say it's only those who are conscious that there is discord by nature to whom the word peace means anything. You see every little word of the New Testament in this kind of a setting is just filled, is pregnant we may say, with theological implications. if you've never known discord the word peace means nothing to you but if you've known something of what it is to sense discord with your God discord within your own mind and conscience and discord and bitterness and enmity and strife with your brethren and the word peace breaks in upon you this word has meaning

The Divine Source of Grace and Peace

30:33 this word comes like a word from heaven now quickly what is the source of these two great blessings that he says he desires shall be their portion grace to you and peace what does he say from delightful circumstances and from social security grace to you and peace from the great society and the united nations and the peace that it will bring you see that's the way the world's trying to write it grace oh all the favor you need big old uncle Sammy he'll give it to you from the cradle to the grave you won't even be able to blow your nose on your own I'll be taking care of it for you

31:17 unmerited favor no not even unmerited we think he owes it to us peace the united nations will bring it the confabs of the great men no no Paul says grace to you and peace and then he traces them back to their only source notice God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ notice the parallel now just as the church is that body of people who are in union union with God the Father and the Lord Jesus unto the church of the Thessalonians that is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ now he says the only source from which grace and peace will come are the Father and the Son to whom you are joined

32:00 by the mighty work of the Holy Spirit the Father is called the God of all grace it's said of the Lord Jesus that grace and truth came by our Lord Jesus the Father is called the God of peace in Romans 15.33 in Hebrews 13.20 the Lord Jesus is called the Prince of Peace in Isaiah and the Lord of Peace in 2 Thessalonians 3 and so the only source the only fountainhead out of which these blessings flow are the Father and the Son now this should have some very practical bearing upon us in the first place do you not see

Peace as the Fruit of Grace: The World's Dilemma

32:44 the folly of the world's present dilemma its whole cry is peace you know what the headline story was two nights ago the Pope's prayer at Fatima for the peace of the world the world wants peace all in a quest for peace but do you see the order in which these are pronounced what does Paul say grace to you and peace peace is a fruit grace is the tree and you don't have the fruit without the tree you don't grow the fruit like the tree like Spanish moss that sort of feeds on the air it's a parasite you just don't hang it over a limb of a tree and have it grow of itself no

33:28 peace is a fruit that only grows where the tree of grace is rooted in the heart and in the life this is the world's dilemma because it's too proud to acknowledge that it needs grace you see to acknowledge you need grace is a humbling thing you've got to say I'm undeserving I'm that guilty no good scoundrel who's kicking and screaming and screaming and screaming and screaming and spat upon him and had no use for his rules I don't deserve anything but wrath and judgment and hell if I get anything else it'll have to be unmerited favor the world's not about to do that the world says with our learning and with our intellectual powers and with our getting together and sharing the insights of the great mind we'll bring about peace

34:12 no peace will be like the rabbit that's out in front of the greyhounds in the dog races they never quite can get it can't get it can't get it the world will never find its peace why because peace is the fruit of grace and to stand in need of grace consciously is to be stripped of all pride and take your place as a poor guilty blind helpless sinner and acknowledge you deserve nothing that's why the bible says God resists the proud but does what gives grace to the humble no man ever receives grace until by the grace of God he's humbled to be prepared to receive

34:56 you see that Pharisee went up to the temple and looked up into the face of what he thought was God and said I thank thee I'm not as other men he received no grace because he didn't see himself needing grace he thought there was a lot in him that would sort of draw forth some benevolent feelings from God he said now God in case you've forgotten here's what I've done here's what I am now God those things ought to draw forth corresponding reactions reactions of favor from you but there was another man who stood afar off and he beat his breast and he said God be merciful to me sinner God there's nothing in me but that which would provoke your wrath I'm a sinner by nature

35:41 by practice I'm a sinner in my attitudes my thoughts but oh God have mercy I plead your grace it says that man went down to his house with something he went down justified God's grace conferred upon the humble that God resisted the proud that's the world's dilemma can you imagine President Johnson making a pronouncement over a national hookup saying I acknowledge as the President of the United States that I have a blinded mind and a corrupt and a depraved heart I'm nothing but a guilty hell deserving sinner but I confess my only hope is in Jesus Christ and I say to this nation with all our abilities and with all of our technology

36:26 and all of our wealth and armament we're slated for judgment unless we humble ourselves before Almighty God now I don't limit the power of God to do something but all these little side references to needing the help of the Almighty you see they're all given in such a way that still preserves our dignity you know they're never made in such a way that honestly acknowledges that we're blind helpless hopeless hell deserving sinners you see that's the way that we're made in such a way that we're blind helpless don't get impressed when statesmen bring in a little word about God ask yourself did they bring God in such a way that it utterly destroyed all confidence in man or did God just sort of come along like a little helper

Beware of False Peace and Embrace Biblical Grace

37:10 you see that's the first lesson that I see in this benediction grace to you and peace and until we acknowledge our need of grace there'll be no peace the second word is a word of exhortation that I would bring to you in closing the sermon this morning you better beware of any peace that isn't rooted in the grace of God do you have peace this morning do you say you have peace with God that you feel your sins are forgiven peace with your own conscience that when conscience reminds you of what you are and what you've done can you say with some measure of peace those sins are blotted out oh beloved listen if that peace

37:55 that you have is not rooted in the grace of God if it isn't rooted in a confidence in Christ alone is your salvation if it isn't rooted in a confidence in the blood of Jesus Christ as your only hope of mercy dread that peace like the devil himself for it's a false peace and Jeremiah said this was the curse of his day it says they have healed slightly the hurt of the daughter of my people saying peace peace when there is no peace until you've seen yourself as undone and needing the grace of God fear any peace you have oh when you've seen yourself as a needy recipient of grace as a needy suppliant of grace then the peace that comes

38:40 is Bible peace can you say these words that you sang earlier listen now praise the Savior God that drew thee to the cross new life to give held a blood seal pardoned to thee bade thee look to him and live praise the grace whose threats alarmed thee have you ever been alarmed by the threatenings of God to sinful men God says the soul that sinneth it shall die cursed is everyone that continues not in all things that are written in the book of the law have you ever been alarmed by God's threats or have you said oh that doesn't apply to me I mean that guy down the street maybe but not me I'm true to my wife I'm sweet to my kids I pay my bills ask any of them I'm alright

39:23 can you praise the grace that has alarmed thee rouse thee from thy fatal ease have you ever been roused from your fatal ease praise the grace whose promise warmed thee you see the grace of God never warms a sinner's heart till first of all it threatens the sinner's heart have you been threatened have you been warmed praise the grace that whispered peace and then in the light of Paul's blessing grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord

40:07 Jesus Christ let us learn to have biblical concepts of God Paul does not join a Jesus only cult and only talk about Jesus this Jesus this the Lord this as he thinks of grace and peace he says they flow from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ he gave proper respect to the different persons in the Godhead he never called Jesus just Jesus he always called him the Lord God Jesus Christ and gave due respect to him in all his offices he always recognized the Father as the great fountainhead and the Son as the channel by which redemption comes to sinners and I trust as a body of God's people will worship him

40:52 not only in spirit but also in what in truth that means you've got to worship him as he's revealed it's not enough for us to have a gush of emotion spirit but it must be according to truth so that as we think of all the blessings that come to us we'll recognize that they come from God the Father and the Lord Jesus let me ask you something dear child of God this morning how do you feel now you say you're not supposed to go on feelings yeah but you've got to live with them and it's wonderful if you get them straightened out now how do you feel this morning you feel guilty oppressed you feel like you've been a failure in the flop well you probably have been that's why you feel that way now what's your comfort

41:36 what's your hope what's going to happen today here's the Lord's day we come together to sing to pray to look at the scriptures what's our hope there's only one hope grace grace grace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus if you're looking for help from yourself or from this preacher you better quit might as well come a blue Monday get into it real fast because it'll be there but you see if God in grace will visit you today and bring the fresh kiss of his pardon and forgiveness to your cheek and bring the fresh fragrance of his peace that always flows when we know that we've come into a fresh place of forgiveness and cleansing that should be your hope

42:20 grace to you and then as the fruit of it peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ it doesn't come from the preacher it can't come it doesn't come through some magical influence of four walls called a church building when you gathered here today where was your heart where were your thoughts were they directed upward to the Father and to his Son was your only hope oh Lord this day grace and peace from yourself that should be the focus of our desire each time we gather and then I care not what condition you come if you come expecting grace and as the fruit of grace peace God can make this Lord's day a day of refreshing and quickening and as you come to each day

43:05 the first word that should reach you grace what have you got to face that day there's grace available unmerited favor and then as the result of it peace no matter what the circumstances as we walk in that grace that he gives to us may we learn to be great takers of grace I think some of us are like that man with the withered hand here's this great supply of grace and we just can't reach out and take let's ask God to strengthen our hands to be great takers the great saints have been great takers great receivers great appropriate and may we be that by the grace of God even today let us pray I am