Grace is defined as "God's riches at Christ's expense," signifying God's unmerited favor extended even when humanity deserves the opposite. The sermon contrasts grace with law and wages, emphasizing that salvation cannot be earned through works but is a gift received by faith, as illustrated by Romans 4:4-5 and Ephesians 2:8-9. God's grace is further described as love descending, exemplified by Christ's poverty for humanity's enrichment, as stated in 2 Corinthians 8:9. The message concludes by urging listeners to understand, internalize, and live by the power of God's sufficient grace.
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Welcome to the Emmaus Bible Hour. This is a program for you and your family, a time to open the Bible and see what God has to say to us through His Word. Hello, friends. It's a joy to be together again today. This is Ken Engle here to lead in our discussion of Lesson Number Nine in our course What the Bible Teaches.
Now, as usual, we have our Bibles before us and our manuals as well. And we're opening our manuals today to page thirty-one. We notice at the top of the page that Lesson Number Nine deals with the subject of grace. There's another fine outline here for us. You'll notice the definition of grace. This is very, very important. And then the contrast between law and grace. The need of grace. And then, of course, God's salvation on the ground of grace. And some of the blessings that flow from this grace. Now I think we should turn to our Bibles and look at Romans chapter three.
The third chapter of Romans and Let me read verses twenty-four through twenty-six. Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are passed, through the forbearance of God, to declare, I say, at this time His righteousness, that He might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Now let's turn over to the next chapter. That's chapter four of Romans. Let me read verses four and five. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. And then over to the next chapter in Romans. That's Romans chapter five and the last two verses, verses twenty and twenty one. Romans five, verses twenty and twenty one. Moreover the law entered that the offence might abound. That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Now whether or not we understand what these passages mean, we've already noticed that each of them contains the word grace.
The introduction to Lesson Nine today points out that this word is found over one hundred sixty times in the Bible, and of these, one hundred twenty-eight are in the New Testament alone, and the word grace is linked with God, with Christ, and with the Holy Spirit, and the whole subject of salvation flows to us from its great divine source, the heart of the God of all grace Himself. Now I want you to think with me today of three things about grace. First of all we want to define grace, and then describe grace, and finally look at the display of grace.
All right, grace defined. It's of the highest importance that we know what we're talking about. because I'm afraid the average person today has very foggy ideas as to the meaning of the word grace. Some as well described it as God's riches at Christ's expense. God's riches at Christ's expense. Now, if you were watching that definition, you might have noticed that it's really in the form of an acrostic. We spell grace with five letters. G-R-A-C-E. Now then the G stands for God's.
R for riches. A at. C. Christ's and E. Expense. G-R-A-C-E. God's riches at Christ's expense. Very fine. This is just what it means. Now grace is really an advance on love, if you will. There is a definition here on page thirty-one that's well worth pondering. Love that looks up is adoration. Love on its own level is affection, but love that descends is grace. Yes, grace is seen as God's giving of His best to save Earth's worst.
Love might be likened to the Niagara River. but grace is where the river plunges over the precipice into the boiling cauldron below. Love is affection on the level, but grace, as we have seen, is plunging over the brink and plunging downward. So let's get our definition of grace correct. Someone has said that it's unmerited favor, and this is true. It's even more than unmerited favor. It's favor against merit. In other words, it's favor when we not only do not deserve it, but it is favor when we deserve the very opposite, namely the wrath of God."
Alright, so much for the definition of grace. Now when we think of the description of grace, I think that the second passage that we read today makes it very clear. I refer to Romans chapter four, verses four and five. Let's just ponder this great statement for a moment. and see if we understand it. Romans four, verse four. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Now what does the apostle mean when he says, Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt?
I think that the New American Standard Bible illuminates it by its translation. I'm going to share it with you. It translates Romans chapter four, verses four and five, like this. Now to the one who works, his wage is not reckoned as a favor, but as what is due. Now I think I understand that. If I work on a contract basis, my wage is received by me not as a favor, not as grace, but rather as something that I deserve. After all, have I not worked for it? And the wage which I receive at the end of my work is in no sense, therefore, a gift. It's an obligation.
But to the one who does not work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness. Philip's paraphrase of the New Testament puts Romans four, verses four and five, like this. Now if a man works, his wages are not counted as a gift, but as a fair reward. But if a man, irrespective of his work, has faith in him who justifies a sinful, then that man's faith is counted as righteousness. Very good. Therefore grace is the opposite of wages. And as the lesson points out, grace is the opposite of law.
I would like you to notice particularly the contrast between law and grace as given at the top of page thirty-two. This brings the two into very sharp contrast. And you might add to that Romans eleven verse six. And if by grace then it is no more of works. Otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works. and it is no more grace. Otherwise, work is no more work. Now you ponder Romans eleven, six, and you'll see how these two principles of grace and law are mutually exclusive. Salvation is not a mixture of law, grace, or works, faith.
Otherwise you destroy both of them. Works and law are no longer works and law and grace and favor are no longer grace and favor. They are opposites. Now grace is described in connection with salvation in the great well-known passage of Ephesians chapter two, verses eight and nine, which passage we should memorize. For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. I think here when Paul says that it's not of ourselves and it is the gift of God, he's not referring to faith. He's referring to salvation. Faith is not the subject of Ephesians two, eight, and nine, although it's there.
The subject of the passage is not faith, it's salvation. And salvation is not of ourselves. It is the gift of God. All right, it flows to us then on the ground of grace. And to come to God and plead any merit, any value on our part, is really an insult to a rich God. If you were invited to have dinner, very wealthy and influential friend, and after a most sumptuous dinner, the friend were to discover after you're leaving the home that there was a ten-cent coin under your plate, and mystified by the dime that you left, that friend might meet you a little later and bring the incident to your attention, and politely inquire as to why the dime was left there.
And if you were to tell that friend that you left the ten cents there to help pay for the dinner, That friend might be mortally wounded. That friend might be offended. His reaction or her reaction might be, well, if that's what this person thinks of my dinner, that it's worth only about ten cents, well, that's not good. You see the illustration? And to come to God with any merit on our own part is to insult Him who is rich in mercy and rich in grace. Now God has displayed his grace in Christ. John chapter one, verse seventeen says, The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
And second Corinthians eight, nine is the outline of how this grace has been displayed in the Lord Jesus Christ. For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich." The three facts that stand out in Second Corinthians eight, nine are these. He was rich. He became poor, that we through that poverty might be rich. And so we've seen grace defined, grace described, and finally grace displayed at the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Alright, let's go over our lesson carefully and prayerfully. Memorize these great texts. Let the grace of God flood your soul, and then live in the power of that grace which is sufficient for every need. Oh, how he loves you and me. Oh, how he loves you and me. He gave his life, what more could he give?
Oh, how he loves you, oh, how he loves me, oh, how he loves you and me. Thank you.